If Lawrence wants to examine the condition of its police force, it needs to look at a lot more than leaky roofs, cramped evidence rooms and outdated work spaces, says Lawrence resident Jerry Harper.

Harper, a former Douglas County district attorney and defense lawyer, said he’s not convinced a nearly $28 million police headquarters would produce the results Lawrence residents really want.

Harper points to a respected study of 30 midsized communities that raises questions about which problems most plague Lawrence’s police force. The study found that Lawrence had some of the higher crime rates among the 30 cities — and some of the lower case-clearance rates.

“Are poor facilities really the explanation for why we have poor clearance rates and high crime rates?” Harper asked. “I’m sure the facilities cause some inconveniences, but I doubt they’re the reason behind these numbers.”

It may surprise you that Lawrence Police Chief Tarik Khatib partly agrees with Harper’s assessment. Khatib agrees that it will take more than new facilities to bring the police force up to the level he desires. In mid-2012, Khatib told commissioners his recommendation was for $42 million in funding, which would include a new headquarters and 46 more officers over a five-year period. City commissioners have chosen to focus on the facility.

And here’s where Khatib and Harper part ways: Khatib is fine with that. He is convinced that the facility needs to be the first step.

“I still think there will be a need for more people, but when you put us all back together in one facility, I think that is going to result in a lot of new efficiencies,” Khatib said. “We may not need as many people as we think.”

Harper disagrees. He said more personnel is likely the best crime-fighting tool, and after spending $28 million there’s no telling when the city might get around to hiring more officers.

“I do believe the chief is trying to do the right thing,” Harper said. “The question is how much money we want to spend. But if it is boots on the ground versus bricks and mortar, I’m for boots on the ground. That should come first, but what really should come first is a top-to-bottom review.”

Such talk frustrates Khatib. He lists facility problems that include bad roofs, a shortage of lockers, operations that are spread out over seven buildings across town, evidence rooms that are overflowing. He said a top-to-bottom review is not going to change any of those conditions.

“The bottom line is the facilities are just not adequate,” Khatib said. “They should not be what we ask our police officers to work out of.”

The numbers

Harper said the evidence about Lawrence’s crime-fighting effectiveness isn’t pretty. He’s been drawing attention to a study called the Benchmark Cities Survey, which is administered by the Overland Park Police Department. Since 2010, Lawrence has voluntarily participated in the survey, which includes 30 cities that range in size from about 75,000 to 280,000.

“We not only don’t do well, we do really poorly in many of the categories,” Harper said.

Khatib concedes the numbers aren’t where he wants them, but he stresses there has been a positive trend. Since 2009, Lawrence’s major crime rate has declined from a score of 55.2 crimes per 1,000 residents to 43.6. The three other university communities in the study have seen their crime rates increase during that time period.

But still, there are some eye-catching numbers in the report.

• Lawrence’s total crime rate of 43.6 crimes per 1,000 residents is still above the group average of 32.1, and is higher than that of Norman, Okla., at 38.8, and Boulder, Colo., at 31. Lawrence’s major crime rate was the fourth highest in the study.

• Property crimes in Lawrence totaled 40.1 per 1,000 residents. The group average was 29.5. Lawrence’s rate was the fourth highest in the study.

• Domestic violence crimes in Lawrence totaled 14.8 per 1,000 residents. The group average is 6.2. Lawrence’s rate was the third highest in the study.

• Lawrence spent 0.1 percent of its department budget on training. The average is 0.7 percent. Lawrence is tied for last in the study.

• Lawrence’s response time to emergency calls is better than average at 4.06 minutes compared with 5.4 minutes. Lawrence’s time was fourth best in the survey.

• The average number of calls an officer responds to in Lawrence per year is 322.3. The group average is 328. Back in 2010, before the city added officers, the average number of calls was about 400, or nearly 20 percent above the group average.

• Lawrence spent $171.51 per resident on police services in 2013. The average is $233.56. Lawrence is fifth from the bottom in the survey.

But Harper said the numbers that are most attention-getting are the department’s clearance rates. A clearance of a case is generally defined as when the department identifies the person it believes has committed a crime. Lawrence ranked low in several categories.

• Lawrence’s clearance rates were below the group averages for every crime category other than homicides. Lawrence had a 100 percent clearance rate on homicides, and was tied with 22 other communities that either had a 100 percent clearance rate or had no homicides to clear.

• Lawrence’s overall major crime clearance rate is 18 percent. The group average is 24.8. Lawrence’s rate was the fourth lowest.

• Lawrence’s violent crime clearance rate was 35.3 percent. The average is 57.6 percent. Lawrence ranked last in the survey.

• Lawrence’s property crimes clearance rate was 16.5 percent. The group average is 22.2 percent. Lawrence’s rate was the fifth lowest.

• The aggravated assault clearance rate in Lawrence was 41.9 percent. The average is 68.5. Lawrence’s rate was the lowest in the survey.

• The clearance rate for rape cases was 12 percent. The average is 46 percent. Lawrence’s rate was the third lowest in the survey.

Khatib, though, is asking residents to take the clearance rates with a grain of salt. The rates used in the survey did come directly from the police department, but Khatib is not confident in their accuracy. He said heavy workloads by officers have made it difficult for them to keep up on all the paperwork needed to officially mark a case as cleared. A 25-year old computer system also has complicated the task, he said.

“Clearance rates really have been garbage in, garbage out,” said Khatib, who has been on the force for 23 years and was appointed as chief in 2011. “Our computer systems really didn’t have a good system for that.”

A new system is being installed, but since the beginning of 2014, the department has been hand counting clearance rates. Khatib said that method has produced numbers that are much higher. Clearance rates for rape cases, for example, have run closer to 50 percent during the first seven months of the year.

It should be noted, however, that the new method the department is using to track cleared cases does slightly change the definition of what constitutes a cleared case. The definition is different from what is being used by the other departments in the Benchmark Survey. Khatib said he is confident that the different definition has not inflated Lawrence’s 2014 numbers, but he won’t have a definitive view of the new numbers until more statistical work is done early next year.

Harper said he finds the explanation on the low clearance rates troubling.

“They are the ones that decided to be a part of this study, and now they are saying they didn’t get the numbers right?” Harper said.

Meeting expectations

Khatib urges Lawrence residents to not get too hung up on any one number or statistic. He said what’s more important is for the community to have a broad discussion about the type of police force it wants. He said he’s convinced the community wants a police force that does more than just basic police work. That’s why the department, for example, provides officers for 50 to 80 events a year, ranging from the downtown Christmas parade to the variety of 5K races run throughout town.

“Lawrence has a certain expectation of their officers,” Khatib said. “I’m proud of that. We take the time to visit with people on the little things.”

But it does take time. Khatib pointed to how many communities are now requiring residents to make certain types of police reports via an online system, rather than talking to a police officer. Khatib said Lawrence has a policy that it will send an officer to talk to anyone who requests one, regardless of whether a crime has been committed.

He said the amount officers are spending on duties that aren’t directly related to solving crimes is having an impact on the overall effectiveness of the department. But Khatib said he’s not lobbying for the department to do less. Rather, he just thinks now is the time to give the department more tools, beginning with a new facility, likely followed by more staffing.

“I hope the community’s big-picture view is that we are blessed in this community to have an outstanding workforce in this department,” Khatib said. “They have made it work for many years based on sheer commitment to the community. They haven’t let it fall down even though they have had less tools than they need to do the job. But I don’t think we can stretch it any further.”

Harper, though, said he’s not convinced the community has a big-picture view of the police department. Harper said community leaders need a comprehensive plan, not just one that addresses facility needs. Adding police officers will be expensive, he said. In 2012, when Khatib proposed adding 46 police officers, city staff estimated it would require a permanent 5-mill increase in the city’s tax rate.

“Before we charge ahead and spend $28 million, we really need to take a top-to-bottom look at crime in this community and how we deal with it,” Harper said.