As Lawrence continues its rapid growth, its public safety and emergency services must find ways to keep up with increasing demands.

Federal grants have played a key role in helping the Lawrence Police Department and the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office improve their ability to fight crime and respond to emergencies.

Police are adding to its officer ranks, and the department now has more than 130 officers. The latest additions, thanks to a three-year, $500,000 federal grant, include four new school resource officers. That allows the department to have officers assigned to the city’s four junior high schools.

“The schools are very excited about this,” Mayor Sue Hack, herself a former junior high school teacher, said earlier this summer. “To have another caring adult in each building is very helpful.”

For several years, police officers have been assigned to Lawrence High School and Free State High School. They help with security and teaching.

Two officers have now been hired to work in the junior high schools and the remaining two will start at the beginning of next year.

In addition, the department was able to use a $2.2 million grant issued through the Kansas Department of Transportation to add seven new additional officers to handle traffic enforcement.

Last month, Sheriff Rick Trapp announced that his department had been approved for a $318,459 federal grant that would allow improvements in communications, not only for his department but other county agencies as well.

The grant will lead to the installation of a computer data system that will benefit law enforcement and firefighting operations countywide.

Police and sheriff’s officers will be able to access criminal records and photographs of suspects or missing persons while on patrol by using mobile data terminals, or laptop computers.

Although police already have the laptops in their cars, sheriff’s officers do not. The sheriff will now be able to buy the computers for his officers.

“It just gives us a lot of new opportunities,” Trapp said.

If they have laptop computers in their cars, Eudora and Baldwin police can use the system, as can local city and township fire departments.

If such information is entered in the data system, the fire departments could use their laptops to access floor plans of businesses and other information that might be helpful in fighting a fire.

Even though Lawrence is growing, the city’s crime rate is not. Crime statistics for 2002 won’t be compiled until after the year ends. In 2001, reports dropped in major crime categories of armed robbery, aggravated battery and burglary. Reports of rape and felony theft saw increases.

Police work with some 30 neighborhood associations in an effort to keep crime down.

“Once they get organized they are really vigilant about keeping an eye on their neighborhoods,” said Officer Jon Barta, neighborhood watch coordinator. “With 130-plus officers in an area of nearly 100,000 people we just need more eyes, and that’s what neighborhood watch is all about.”

Also in 2001, overall crime went down on the campus of Kansas University for the fourth year in a row, according to the KU Public Safety Department.

One of the biggest declines in that four-year period came in vehicle and residential burglaries. In 1997 there were 343 reports taken by officers. That dropped to 154 in 2001.

KU police think increased lighting on campus has helped reduce crime.

“That has really made things a lot safer,” Public Safety Director Ralph Oliver said.

Lawrence-Douglas County Fire & Medical also is making changes to keep up with area growth. The department opened a new fire and ambulance station last spring at 2128 Harper St.

Another station will be built in the area of 21st Street and Iowa and other existing stations may be moved.

In the changing fire and medical services, the number of medical calls now are far higher per year than fire calls. In 2001, there were 2,114 fire calls while medical personnel responded to 6,457 calls.