Mary Finn, director of the MSU School of Criminal Justice, recently released the findings of her three-year sex industry study, for which she interviewed pimps, prostitutes and collected data in order to better understand how the internet is changing one of the world's oldest professions.After she heard a statistic that an estimated 80 percent of prostitution now occurs online, Finn said she and her partner, University of Loyola Chicago professor Loretta Stalans, were inspired to conduct the study.
“We decided we wanted to interview pimps who were active in the community, rather than interview them when they were in police custody or had been decarcerated,” Finn said.
This was to ensure the data collected would based on current and ongoing activity, Finn said..
Finn drew the pimps to her the same way she said they now attract their customers — through classified ads on the website Backpage that delicately skirted around the subject matter.
Finn said pimps often post ads in the adult sections of Backpage, masquerading as legitimate services such as a massage, escort, club dancing or others.
“We couldn’t put an ad out saying ‘we’re looking to interview pimps' or ‘we’re looking to interview people who sell sex’ because none of those things would be permitted,” Finn said. “We put out an ad that basically said we were looking to interview ‘adult males who managed adult erotic industry workers.’"
Finn said she and Stalans advertised a payment of $60 per interview and left a cell phone number.
After screening those who responded, arrangements were made to meet with the individuals, Finn said.
“We approached it and tried to be as non-judgmental as we could be about what they were involved in and treated it like it was any other kind of business,” Finn said.
Finn said the pimps were asked a variety of questions ranging in topics from their use of technology to strategies they used to find clients.
The variety in tactics and personalities among the pimps interviewed was surprising, Finn said.
“That was rather shocking, that there’s just a whole lot more to ‘doing’ pimping, and much of it has the same sort of skill set that being a manager of others in other types of industries use,” Finn said.
East Lansing Police Department Lt. Scott Wriggelsworth said ELPD doesn’t have a position dedicated to investigating online prostitution, and most cases are opened once a tip is submitted or a victim comes forward. The department then teams up with state and local authorities to conduct an investigation.
“With the invention of the internet, all crimes seem to have grown,” Ingham County Sheriff's Office Detective Sgt. Greg Harris said. “It’s been a big problem, it has been that way for years.”
Finn said keeping the sale of sex illegal has many negative consequences, one of which is that the industry is driven underground.
Workers aren’t protected legally from violence or coercion and are prone to health risks because there are no regulations on protection, Finn said.
“I think we need to have a conversation about what we can do to decrease that vulnerability,” Finn said.
Finn and Stalans' work can be read in greater detail at this website or others providing access to academic works. MSU students can login on using their student ID to most websites hosting academic works to bypass paywalls.
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