Six Bay Area women were arrested in a prostitution sting on Thursday after police received a series of complaints from Berkeley residents.

About 10 officers in Berkeley Police Department's under cover unit posed as "Johns" seeking "dates," catching six women who were prostituting themselves, Berkeley police Officer Andrew Frankel said.

Most of the women were arrested on San Pablo Avenue early in the evening of October 16.

Oakland residents Shasha Speech, 36, Chantay Grays, 42, Courtney Holden, 22, and Tianya Gaddis, 18, were all cited for prostitution. Richmond resident Rosa Russel, 19, and Berkeley resident Sandra Bates, 52, were also cited.

Police say no pimps were arrested in connection with the incidents.

"It's always harder to find the pimps," Frankel said, adding that the pimps are often near where the prostitutes are found.

Frankel said the officers patrolled areas in the city known to be more prone to prostitution.

"Generally, you find prostitutes in our city by Dwight and San Pablo to the Oakland line," Frankel said.

Frankel said prostitution stings are not systematic in the city and are usually driven by community complaints, acknowledging that prostitution exists in Berkeley and that it can negatively affect the lives of residents.

The Berkeley Police Department, unlike departments in many bigger cities, does not have a vice unit dedicated solely to operations such as prostitution and gambling, Frankel said. The officers involved in the sting are members of the department's narcotics force.

Frankel said prostitution stings are not routine because they feel that the narcotics trade in the city poses a larger threat to residents than prostitution does.

The six women were taken to Berkeley City Jail, where they were cited. All the women were then released except for Bates and Speech, who were taken to Santa Rita Jail in Dublin because they had prior misdemeanor convictions.

Speech will go to trial Thursday where her probation may be revoked. Records show that Speech was charged with grand theft and receiving stolen goods in 2005.

Tags: CRIME