If Lawrence and Douglas County want to protect themselves from vicious dogs, they’re going to have to get tough, said several area leaders Friday afternoon.

Illegal dog fights — often the domain of those who commit other violent or drug-related crimes — have become “an ongoing and significant threat to the community’s safety,” County Commissioner Charles Jones said.

And local statutes are not equipped to handle the problem, he said.

Jones was joined by Lawrence Humane Society director Midge Grinstead, law enforcement officials and representatives from Lawrence and surrounding towns for the meeting, a brainstorming session to find solutions for the vicious-dog problem.

The county has trouble cracking down on dangerous dogs because of the way the law is interpreted, said Evan Ice, Douglas County counselor.

“They get a free bite,” he said, meaning that prosecutors have to prove that the owner knew or should have known the dog was dangerous.

Within city limits, the problem is first finding proof of dog fights, then getting the animals away from owners who train them to be vicious.

Current laws are not sharply focused, Jones said.

Grinstead estimated that there were between 24 and 36 dogs in the community that threatened public safety, 85 percent of which were pit bulls.

Each week she euthanizes about 20 dogs who fail temperament tests, which gauge a dog’s suitability for adoption.

In addition, she keeps a list of about 80 Lawrence residents — many of whom live near schools in East Lawrence — who she believes are fighting, breeding or selling dangerous dogs.

“Sooner or later someone’s going to get seriously hurt,” she said.

But Grinstead said there was little she could do.

Evidence is usually scant. Successful prosecutions are few. And even if a dog is taken away from its owner, it’s not long before that owner has a new one.

“This law is not working,” she said, adding that the vicious-dog ordinance did not target the right people.

The Dalmatian who nips the mailman gets in trouble, she said, but not the dogs trained to attack.

Officials discussed breed-specific bans as well as a Eudora ordinance that requires owners of certain dogs to have $50,000 worth of liability insurance.

Landlords whose tenants are breeding dangerous dogs should be held more accountable, Grinstead said.

Animal Control needs a better method to get dangerous dogs away from the public, she said, and the problem of vicious dogs taking up valuable shelter space while waiting for court decisions needs to be solved.

Douglas County Sheriff’s Lt. Kathy Tate suggested devising a way to track dogs and their owners as they moved between cities.

She spoke for everyone when she said safety needed to be the first concern of those working with dangerous-dog owners — who can be dangerous themselves.

“If we’re going to do this right, we need to make sure that our people have adequate training,” she said.