Apparently it’s not impossible to enforce Lawrence’s ban on fireworks inside city limits.

Ever since the ban went into effect in 2002, Lawrence police have cited the difficulty of catching violators and said trying harder to enforce the ban would draw too many officers away from other, more important, duties on the Fourth of July holiday. Police Chief Tarik Khatib reiterated those same arguments to Lawrence city commissioners earlier this month, but said he would have extra officers on duty on July 4 in an effort to provide stiffer enforcement of the ban.

And guess what? It worked. In the last six years, 2008 to 2013, Lawrence police responded to 204 fireworks complaints, but handed out an average of just three citations per year. This year, from June 30 to July 6, officers responded to 226 fireworks calls and issued 34 citations, more than 10 times their previous average.

Several officers were assigned specifically to handle fireworks calls, a department spokesman said, and other calls were lower than normal allowing more officers to respond to fireworks complaints.

At the beginning of the July 4 holiday, Khatib focused on public education and “personal responsibility” as the key factors in reducing fireworks incidents. “Voluntary compliance is a very important part of the social contract,” he said. “It is part of the social contract to follow laws, even if we don’t like them.”

Yes, great, the social contract, but even Khatib knows that nothing deters unlawful behavior like the fear of getting caught. Knowing that 34 Lawrence residents — instead of the usual three — ended their July 4 holiday with a citation in their hands and possible fines in their future is a concrete disincentive to others who are inclined to ignore the city ban.

As some have suggested, city officials might consider taking other steps, such as working with the county to move fireworks stands further away from the city limits, but nothing is likely to have as much impact as ongoing, consistent enforcement of the city ban.