Arcade machines, exposed breasts and smoking will soon become taboo at local Vietnamese coffeehouses.

The Garden Grove City Council voted, 4-0, in favor of passing an amendment to an existing ordinance, which among other things, will ban arcade machines, which police say, are rigged to be gambling machines. It will also prohibit exposure of waitresses' breasts and pubic area in keeping with city code and ban smoking, which is now prevalent at these coffeehouses.

Police Chief Kevin Raney told council members that his department, through undercover operations, conducted raids at 20 coffeehouses and confiscated 200 gambling machines.

Raney said that for many years, sexy café waitresses served coffee, tea and smoothies in lingerie or outfits similar to lingerie. But over the past few months, the outfits have become racier.

"We found that their breasts were exposed and in some establishments, even their pubic area was exposed," he said.

Nguyen Vong, a resident of Fountain Valley, said he represents a "silent majority" in the Vietnamese community that is opposed to what is going on in the coffeehouses.

"Some of these establishments have recently added an attraction where waitresses wear some type of sheer dress with nothing underneath," he said. "It is illegal because it is indecent exposure."

The cafes have also become a meeting place for gang members, Vong said.

"It's becoming a lot worse than a gentleman's club," he said. "It's not good for the city's image."

There are 37 of these coffeehouses in Garden Grove alone. There are also several more of these businesses spread over Westminster and parts of Santa Ana. A staff report states that in 2010 alone there were three robberies, four incidents of assault with a deadly weapon, seven drug-related incidents, 28 gambling arrests and 39 citations for smoking violations in these coffeehouses.

Raney said his main concern is the proliferation of gambling machines and gang activity in coffeehouses. He said the establishments are rigging normal tabletop arcade games such as Pac-Man. With a flip of a switch, a push of a button or even with a smartphone application, these could be converted into gambling machines, he explained.

The police chief said his department will be strictly enforcing all the new elements of the ordinance. He said the city is not trying to be the "moral police" by passing this ordinance.

"If (the coffeehouses) want to become adult entertainment establishments, they need to apply for the appropriate permits," he said. "They have morphed into gambling houses and gentleman's clubs."

Raney said he received a complaint from a mother who was walking past a coffeehouse with her :ghey: 12-year-old son said that the child pointed to a "naked lady" in the café.

"This was at lunchtime," he said.

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