Community Update - Crack Alley: ‘A Face Can Make All the Difference’

Through the good efforts of the LAPD’s Rampart Division, our own perseverence and the pressure generated by making our plight public, we are happy to say that the appalling conditions described in “Crack Alley,” (Voices, Jan. 14) are improved. Not perfect, but definitely on the mend.

We no longer have any squatters in our alley on a street of historic buildings in the Pico-Union district of Los Angeles, though their presence is felt as we glimpse them now and then, hurriedly buying their drugs. The landlords of the several buildings that contain either dealers or users are being contacted about evictions and cleanup. Bob Hayes of the Public Works Department has insisted that we contact him in case of trash dumping, and we still look forward to having the graffiti painted over.

Even before the article was published, the Police Department’s Rampart Division CRASH (Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums) unit contacted us and we got concrete help in getting rid of the bloodsuckers making their homes in our alley behind our home. The arrests began that evening.

The good news: The police have not deserted the inner city. They want to help but need the assistance of residents willing to give some of themselves to the effort--to make themselves known to police and available if support is needed. One complaining phone call (or many) will not necessarily get an effective response.

Citizens can do more than most of us think. As arrests are made, we track the case numbers with either the City Attorney’s office (misdemeanor charges), or the District Attorney’s office (felony charges). This is important, because the arresting officers are not notified of any legal action until they are told to report to the courtroom to testify. If the case is dropped before this, it is impossible to expect that these already overextended officers can go back to follow up. But a citizen can make a difference.

When we heard that charges might be dropped against some of the users and dealers who had been arrested in our area, we made contact with the D.A.’s office to let them know that, as citizens, we were interested in seeing these cases prosecuted. With the help of someone in that office, the arrestees were bound over for trial. In a sea of paperwork, a face or voice can make all the difference.

Certainly, going up against crack dealers and users isn’t the safest proposition, but CRASH never suggested that we should make ourselves visible. Indeed, the police stress that they will take care of the police work. Maybe we think that, as citizens, we shouldn’t have to dirty our hands by participating in the solution. But we have a feeling that we are investing in the future of this perishing neighborhood.

For the first time in more than a year, we can look out our window and see mothers and children walking to the store or to church down a quiet, unthreatening alleyway. We do not expect the dealers will give up easily, but they certainly do not “own” this alley anymore. We have had excellent support from our beat cops, who drive through frequently and order any stragglers out. Oh, crackheads still stop by for their fixes, but they don’t hang around long. They know that what they are doing is no longer tolerated.

We found, albeit after much frustration, that the police really do want to help citizens--but squeaky, persistent wheels can get more attention. It is the citizen’s job, if we have a problem, to physically go to the nearest station house and ask to speak to someone who can help. If that person doesn’t help, ask for the next officer up the ladder. Police are overworked, so don’t expect perfection.

We live in a so-called “undesirable” neighborhood, where the cops are generally feared as tyrannical and/or uncaring, but in showing them that we intend to help, we have been blessed by extra effort. LAPD’s Falcon Squad, specializing in drug abatement, contacted us the day the article was printed. The problem is not yet solved but it is drawing action and attention from the LAPD and other agencies. We can’t really ask for more.