New Eviction Program to Crack Down on Drugs

City Atty. James Hahn has announced a program to evict drug dealers from apartment buildings, a new weapon in the war on drugs made possible by a new statelaw.

The City Council last week approved $170,410 to fund a new Narcotics Eviction Team that will target neighborhoods already getting attention from the city’s FALCON narcotics abatement unit, Hahn said.

Under FALCON (Focused Attack Linking Community Organizations and Neighborhoods), city prosecutors, LAPD officers and building inspectors have cracked down on apartment buildings where drug dealers and gang members are active.

But Hahn said his office was limited in what it could do if landlords refused to evict drug dealers, until Jan. 1, when a new state law drafted by the FALCON attorneys gave his office power to initiate evictions.

“This new law gives city prosecutors an important new legal weapon to fight the problems that illegal drug activities bring to a neighborhood,” Hahn said. “It will allow us to step in and evict the people responsible for such problems when landlords either lack the will or feel too threatened to take the action themselves.”

Hahn estimated the new Narcotics Eviction Team will handle about 40 cases each month. Last year, the LAPD served 1,700 narcotics search warrants, the majority involving rental housing.