No, play in a PG, like Fleetcomm or Mobius. I've been in Fleetcomm since start of the event and haven't had a single issue, except when I was stupid and boosted out of Omega station forgetting that I was in a PG and other players where there. Didn't die, but really embarrassed myself.
Private Groups give you the chance of meeting others, while begin quite safe since griefers aren't allowed in there.
Plus, with the addition of the System chat channel, you can meet other players no matter the mode. You just have to get yourselves into the same mode or group to instance with each other.
That's why there's law enforcement in the game. Griefers as you call them can't kill anyone with a clean status and not allied with any superpower without consequence. They get notoriety and therefore can't simply go and pay of any bounties issued against them. Anyone willing can hunt these people down and claim their bounty. On top of that there's law enforcement trying to track them down as well if the notoriety is high enough or they're scanned and found wanted.
Ahh haha! That's funny. I mean, that's actually literally what the notoriety system is supposed to achieve, but C&P isn't very effective, so dedicated gankers work around it.
Now I think it would be an great addition to the game if law enforcement was determined enough to actually make life difficult for serial offenders. There's various ways that could happen - better AI, more aggressive hunting tactics, maybe even following notorious players to nearby systems. Giving players the tools to bounty hunt wanted pilots would also go a long way. Because right now, one thing this game cannot really provide to an experienced player is that feeling of being *hunted*.