Columbus aims to curb violence at Wedgewood Village Apartments

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- The office of Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein is planning to aggressively improve a west-side apartment complex plagued with crime.

Violence has persisted at the Wedgewood Village Apartments for nearly a decade, police said, even after physical enhancements were made to the property in the last few months. When asked by NBC4, Klein said now is the time to get aggressive and creative.

"That community of wonderful people deserve to be lifted up and be invested in," said Klein.

Klein's office intervened last October to attempt to put an end to the violence after a series of shooting at the complex in just a few weeks.

"We have monthly meetings with the owners to make sure that they are following through on the commitments that they’ve made to the city, and they have every step of the way," Klein said.

However, the crimes continues even with added lighting, police access to cameras and additional security. Now, Klein said they are considering targeting individuals for nuisance abatements.

"Identifying, where may be the hotspots and bad actors within the apartment complex itself and can we be more micro-targeted in figuring out how to go about them individually instead of all 2000 units," Klein said,

Klein said Columbus police will play a huge role in this plan through evidence gathering.

"It's not an official plan yet, but it’s something that we are thinking about doing because as with most things, there are a few bad actors that are ruining it in a very significant and dangerous way," Klein said.

Klein said he has also been helping to form a residence council at Wedgewood. He believes this will be a major key to the future success of the neighborhood.

“I think, setting up the residence council can make a really big difference with the future of Wedgewood, because the residents themselves are sitting at the table to set the direction of their own future,” Klein said.

NBC4 asked Klein when the tipping point would be to go above the complex owners and take action despite their responsiveness. He said they are not close to that point.