Our police departments throughout Nassau and Suffolk counties have been doing a good job of monitoring the opening of illegal massage parlors in our business communities, and in arresting the women there who are offering sex for a fee. There is hardly a week that goes by that we do not see a police report outlining the most recent raid of an illegal establishment of this type in one of our communities.

What is not being done, as our special report on this subject indicated three weeks ago, is a comprehensive investigation of these places to determine if there is any connection between them.

Someone is providing the up-front cash to rent these store fronts, and the women, most of whom are from the Flushing area, are being transported to Long Island in some manner. Whether there is an informal or formal connection promoting this type of activity is not clear- that there is one is difficult to deny.

Suffolk and Nassau Police have made some efforts to conduct these investigations with marginal success, largely because of a lack of funding. After all, prostitution is not a violent crime and therefore, is not a top priority. But to allow this type of activity to continue by simply shuffling these operations from one storefront to another, one community to another, is not addressing the problem. Prostitution invites other types of illegal behaviors on to our main streets, undermining the safety of citizens and the quality of life our law enforcement agencies are sworn to protect.

We'd like to see a cooperative effort between Nassau and Suffolk counties to address this problem. By pooling, resources, an investigation can be carried out more efficiently and cost effectively. This problem is not like the common cold. We should be able to not only address the symptoms but also cure the infection.