Get Involved! Operation: It's Closing Time

Operation: It's Closing Time


State Law dictates that businesses that do massage must be closed between 12am and 5am (except some specially exempted medical facilities).

If you happen to drive by one of these Illicit Massage Parlors past midnight and see that their 'OPEN' sign is on, or see other signs that business is still occurring, you can call the Tampa Police Department.

Don't call 911, because it is not an emergency (unless you happen to see something that indicates that someone is in immediate physical danger).  Call the Tampa Police Department Non Emergency line:

(813) 231-6130 



and report that State Law is being violated. They will then have a duty to investigate and at the very least file a report and hopefully actually check it out and cite the business with a misdemeanor.

Our hope is to provide the Tampa Police Department with training on how to identify the signs of Human Trafficking so that when they enter these establishments they will see the evidence and begin an investigation.

The State Law is shown below with a link at the bottom of this page.

The 2016 Florida Statutes 

Title XXXII
REGULATION OF PROFESSIONS AND OCCUPATIONS
Chapter 480
MASSAGE PRACTICE
CHAPTER 480
MASSAGE PRACTICE

 480.0475 Massage establishments; prohibited practices.—
(1) A person may not operate a massage establishment between the hours of midnight and 5 a.m. This subsection does not apply to a massage establishment:
(a) Located on the premises of a health care facility as defined in s. 408.07; a health care clinic as defined in s. 400.9905(4); a hotel, motel, or bed and breakfast inn, as those terms are defined in s. 509.242; a timeshare property as defined in s. 721.05; a public airport as defined in s. 330.27; or a pari-mutuel facility as defined in s. 550.002;
(b) In which every massage performed between the hours of midnight and 5 a.m. is performed by a massage therapist acting under the prescription of a physician or physician assistant licensed under chapter 458, an osteopathic physician or physician assistant licensed under chapter 459, a chiropractic physician licensed under chapter 460, a podiatric physician licensed under chapter 461, an advanced registered nurse practitioner licensed under part I of chapter 464, or a dentist licensed under chapter 466; or
(c) Operating during a special event if the county or municipality in which the establishment operates has approved such operation during the special event.
(2) A person operating a massage establishment may not use or permit the establishment to be used as a principal domicile unless the establishment is zoned for residential use under a local ordinance.
(3) A person violating the provisions of this section commits a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083. A second or subsequent violation of this section is a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.
History.—s. 4, ch. 2013-212.


http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0400-0499/0480/0480.html

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