The City of Columbus Property Action Team: Using Community Engagement as a Force Multiplier for Public Safety and Opportunity

The Columbus City Attorney’s Property Action Team (PAT) uses crime and environmental code violations data to identify high-risk nuisance properties serving as epicenters of violence then utilizes Criminal Activity Nuisance Ordinances to hold property owners accountable. PAT is staffed with nine attorneys embedded in seven neighborhoods serving residents across the Columbus. These neighborhoods align with Columbus Division of Police enforcement zones. The team focuses on three critical components when addressing high-risk properties: crime, physical safety/built infrastructure and neighborhood engagement. PAT is embedded in the Columbus City Attorney’s Office and staffed with nine attorneys working directly with prosecutors, police, code enforcement and judges and is highly successful in increasing police response/presence (addressing crime) and increasing compliance with environmental codes (improving physical/built safety). Addressing these two components are critical to triaging immediate crime and safety needs. However, implementing long-term, public safety solutions requires working one-on-one with property owners, managers and residents in hot-spots to develop multi-year, safety and opportunity plans. With this IPS funding, the PAT will formalize the community engagement component of their criminal nuisance abatement work as a force multiplier for reducing crime and increasing safety. PAT will create a full-time Community Relation Director position for the team. The director will develop relationships with neighborhood residents, leaders and faith communities; actively participate in area commission and civic association meetings; get to know business owners and landlords and connect with schools in each of the seven PAT zones. They would also work one-on-one with nuisance property owners, specifically apartment complexes with a minimum of 100 units, to develop and implement multi-year, Property Action Community Engagement Plans. Through the award period, PAT will do case assessments on properties with active Property Action Community Engagement Plans. The assessments will include interviews and surveys with property owners, managers, residents and neighborhood stakeholders and reviews of crime and crime related data in an around the properties to assess impact of PAT work on neighborhood crime, safety, opportunity and perceptions of resilience. Columbus, Ohio is the service area for this program. The project will impact residents in the city’s highest-crime and lowest-income neighborhoods.