Gang Injunction Considered for Drug-Infested Neighborhood

In an effort to tackle an open-air drug market on Orion Avenue in North Hills, Councilman Richard Alarcon has urged prosecutors to consider seeking an anti-gang injunction similar to others credited with reducing crime elsewhere in the city.

The injunction proposal is at a discussion stage, said Alarcon, who added that police and housing authority officials and other agencies need to be consulted.

“We are looking at an entire package of efforts, and we asked to see if that area meets the specific criteria that are required for an injunction,” he said.

The idea was conceived by Alarcon after he read a series earlier this year in The Times about a four-block section of Orion Avenue.

Part of the series described how a gang runs an open-air drug market, and told of the risks faced by residents, who rarely venture out of their apartments for fear of harm.

In a letter, Alarcon asked the Los Angeles city attorney’s office to study whether court-ordered restrictions on actions considered conducive to gang activity--such as carrying pagers or even gathering or speaking to one another in public places--could be justified.