COLUMBUS, Ohio — Police have already created a unit that does nothing but process guns seized from the streets, but a new plan to go after illegal weapons is expected to be unveiled soon, 10TV's Kevin Landers reported on Thursday.

While specifics about the plan have not been made public, police said during a neighborhood meeting earlier this week that gangs would be targeted.

"Right now the chief is finalizing a plan for a gang initiative," said Columbus police Deputy Chief Stephen Gammill.  "Part of that will be to augment that gang officers with some patrol officers on a short term, temporary basis to go after the worst gangs."

Police say that each year more and more guns are taken away from criminals, and each year the guns get more sophisticated and more powerful.

Columbus police Officer Andrew Ward showed 10TV photos of guns he's seized as a patrol officer in the south Linden area.

"We're definitely seeing a lot more firearms," Ward said.  "We're seeing assault weapons; TEC-9s, those kinds of things."

In 2007, patrol officers seized 700 illegal guns from city streets.  That number grew to more than 800 in 2008.

While the number dropped to 677 last year, police said the number is still high, considering 10 years ago they seized an average of 200 guns a year, Landers reported.

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