The Lawrence Police Department already has a citizen board to oversee its operations.

It’s called the Lawrence City Commission.

Adding another layer of citizen oversight to the police department, as suggested by Mayor Boog Highberger, is unnecessary. Highberger said Wednesday that he didn’t have all the details of his recommendation worked out, but he favors the formation of a citizen review board “to give citizens assurance about our police department.”

Highberger noted a degree of “distrust” of the police department among some community members. If that is the case, city commissioners should address the problem, not appoint an advisory board that would have no authority to actually deal with any serious problems between citizens and the police department.

The citizen review board also seems to imply that serious problems exist. On the contrary, the Lawrence Police Department has an excellent reputation and record. It is professionally run and has made a special effort to communicate with the public through various programs, including its Citizens Academy.

Highberger said the review board probably would operate much like other city advisory boards that are appointed by the mayor and report to the City Commission. A citizen board that reviews the police department seems far different, however, from a board that oversees the public library or the airport.

The issues handled by law enforcement officers are far more sensitive and, in many cases, confidential. It would be easy for a citizen review board to have either too much influence, perhaps pushing a narrow agenda or even hampering police operations, or have no influence at all because it would lack the clout to institute any meaningful changes even if they were needed.

Although he said he didn’t have enough details to pass judgment on Highberger’s plan, Police Chief Ron Olin expressed reservations during a World Online chat Thursday about the possibility that a review board would interfere with management functions or lead to labor strife within the department. Those results obviously would hamper rather than improve police operations.

Appointing a citizen review board may seem like good public relations, but oversight of the city’s police department is a task better handled directly by elected city commissioners.