Lawrence Police Department Budget Analysis

The Lawrence Police Department is a unique agency with a vibrant history. Lawrence, Kansas was founded in 1852 in the middle of what was once the Shawnee Indian Reservation. After the events of Bleeding Kansas and Quantrill’s raid which resulted in the death of around 250 people Lawrence rebuilt and settled down. In 1866 the first Lawrence Police Department building was created on the site of where City Hall stands. By 1920 the Lawrence Police Department had to police vehicles and four officers. The monthly pay during that time was $85 per month. Flash forward 40 years to the advent of the 911 operating system coupled with political and societal instability the Lawrence Police Department recorded over 7,000 in a single year. At one point during

However, the information obtained online shows that the police department budget makes up 21.23% of the overall city budget. In 2013 this was a whopping $16,222,471.00. This makes up the largest chunk of where the city’s budget goes. Because of their large budget the city puts extra scrutiny on where every nickel and dime is spent. It is safe to assume that the patrol division budget makes up more than half of that budget. In a document obtained from Assistant to the Chief Mulvenon shows that the 1999 budget is $7,841,824.00 for the patrol division. The 1999 budget does not go into too much detail, but it is itemized into 6 different categories. The first on the list are personal services which make up the bulk amount of the budget, costing $6,697,674.00. Next is the contractual service which costs $706,600. Then commodities and capital outlay which total up to be $437,550. In comparison to the year before was a 10.43% increase in the budget from last year. The Lawrence Police Department will need to continue its budgetary growth because of the rising population and a society dependent on video

Every year the Lawrence Police Department posts an annual report online. This report consists of information such as basic information about the department. In reference to patrol the report gives information in relation to current events involving the division. For instance, in 2013 the traffic division was disbanded and the 6 officers assigned to that area were reassigned back into patrol. It also reported that the patrol division implemented a program called DDACTS hotspot. It is a a program that revolves around problem oriented policing that identifies trends and hotspots so officers can act accordingly. For example, if the data shows a certain area has a lot of accidents due to speeders the model would identify that and as a result officers would set up shop and attempt to reduce incidents by traffic