There were encouraging trends for Lawrence in a survey released last week of 30 police departments in similarly sized communities around the country.

The Benchmark Cities Survey, conducted and compiled by the city of Overland Park, showed the number of crimes in Lawrence is on the decline while the number of crimes being solved is on the increase. The survey also revealed areas of concern, including an above-average crime rate overall and an increase of reported rapes that gives Lawrence among the highest rates of reported rape among the cities in the survey.

Cities participating in the survey ranged in size from Boca Raton, Fla., population 87,000, to Henderson, Nev., population 285,000. Lawrence was among the smallest cities in the survey. Some of the highlights of the survey include:

• In 2011, there were 42.5 crimes reported per 1,000 citizens in Lawrence. By 2015, the number had decreased to 38.3 per 1,000 citizens. The average for the 30 cities is 30.4 per thousand.

• Violent crimes have decreased from 4.2 per 1,000 citizens in 2011 to 2.4 per 1,000 citizens in 2015.

• Property crimes have decreased slightly in the past five years.

• Rape offenses per 1,000 citizens have increased in Lawrence from 0.47 per 1,000 residents in 2011 to 0.62 per 1,000 residents in 2015. That compares to an average rate of 0.42 per thousand for the 30 communities.

• Since 2011, the Lawrence Police Department’s total clearance rate has increased from 11.2 percent to 24.4 percent. The average clearance rate is 27 percent for the 30 cities.

The Benchmark Survey also measured the volume of resources the communities put into law enforcement. The survey showed that the Lawrence Police Department accounted for 21.2 percent of the city’s $81.9 million budget in 2015. By comparison, the average of the 30 cities was 28.3 percent of their cities’ budgets. Lawrence has one of the smallest police staffs among the cities surveyed, but its ratio of officers to residents — 1 officer for every 627 residents — is better than the average of 1 officer for every 729 residents among the cities in the survey.

The Lawrence Police Department should be commended on much of the data in the survey, particularly for the decreasing overall crime rate and increasing rate of crimes solved. But it’s important to remember that the Benchmark Cities Survey also shows that Lawrence has a higher than average crime rate overall and an alarming occurrence of alleged rapes in the community. It’s not unreasonable to challenge the city of Lawrence to set its sights on lowering Lawrence’s crime rate below the average of the Benchmark Cities Survey.