People who have sent in checks to pay parking tickets, speeding violations or other fines to Lawrence Municipal Court are being urged to keep a close eye on their bank accounts after the court had two days worth of mail stolen recently.

City officials on Friday announced that it appears the mail for the Lawrence Municipal Court was stolen from the post office box in the downtown post office at Seventh and Vermont streets. Vicki Stanwix, the municipal court administrator, said the mail turned up missing on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week.

Stanwix said it is possible the mail could have included checks, legal documents and other items that have sensitive personal information. She is urging anyone with questions to call municipal court at 832-6190 to determine if payments and documents were received by the court.

“We’re anticipating lots of calls, and we’re ready to handle them,” Stanwix said.

Stanwix said the court also is prepared to offer grace periods to people who have perhaps missed court-ordered deadlines because of the loss of the mail.

Stanwix said the U.S. Postal Service has taken additional steps to secure the court’s mail. It is not known how the mail was taken from the court’s secure post office box, Stanwix said. The Postal Service and the Lawrence Police Department are conducting a joint investigation into the matter.

“We take this matter very seriously,” Stanwix said.

Stanwix said the volume of mail that may have been stolen is tough to estimate. She said the amount of mail the court receives varies greatly, and has been reduced in recent years as the city has implemented an online payment system for a variety of fines. But she said the office still can receive more than 100 pieces of mail on any given day.

Stanwix said her office contacted the Lawrence Police Department on Thursday morning when the department found it odd that it had not received mail for two days. The city began notifying the public Friday afternoon after it had been determined that the mail had been stolen.