Changes are ahead for the Lawrence Police Department as it adjusts to serving a growing community, police and city officials told an audience at a public meeting Wednesday night.

Police are working to improve their computer and information systems as they prepare to implement recommendations from a resource study conducted last year. The purpose of the study was to determine what improvements the department could make, Police Chief Ron Olin told about 20 people at the American Legion Dorsey-Liberty Post No. 14.

“Some of the (recommendations) are just incredibly simple,” Olin said. “Some of them are very complex. Once the changes are made, they will have an impact on the street that is very noticeable.”

A few weeks ago the police department faced criticism from some Lawrence residents about their handling of burglary investigations and other incidents.

The legion called Wednesday’s meeting to commend the police for doing a good job and to ask questions about the department’s operations, said Don Dalquest, commander of the post and a retired Lawrence Police officer.

“You have our support just like the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan,” Dalquest told Olin and other officers who accompanied him.

Olin noted that a change made in Municipal Court already has had a major effect on how officers handle neighborhood noise complaints.

“We have already written more noise complaints in the first three months of this year than all of 2004,” Olin said.

Olin also said that the department was in the process of hiring a public safety attorney who could also act in a capacity similar to an ombudsman and handle civilian complaints about the department.

Mel Lisher brings up some of his concerns about support for the Lawrence Police Department during a forum at the American Legion, 3408 W. Sixth St. Police shared proposed improvements to the department during Wednesday's meeting.

No one at the meeting said he thought police were doing a bad job, including Mayor Boog Highberger and Commissioner Sue Hack. The need for more officers was the biggest concern, legion members said.

“I just hope the budget can support extra police officers,” said legion member Bob Brooks. “We need more.”

Police regularly have 13 officers out of 20 to 24 officers on duty who can respond to calls throughout the city, Olin said.

Hack and Highberger said commissioners also were studying the police resource report to see how instituting some of the recommendations would affect the city budget.

Legion member Melvin Lisher also commended police. He recalled that as a firefighter in the 1950s he worked with police officers.

“They were a good bunch then,” he said. “But today they are much better trained, younger, and they have much better technology.”

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