For the fourth month in a row, the number of calls received by the Lawrence Police Department has decreased.

Each morning, the Journal-World receives a list of the Lawrence Police Department’s activities over the previous 24 hours. At the end of the month those logs are compiled and compared.

The logs don’t list every single call LPD has received in a given day, but they’re a good starting point. In addition, each incident listed offers only a short description of the call, which is subject to change as investigations continue. Calls do not necessarily result in citations or arrests.

For January, LPD’s officers responded to at least 5,882 calls. This figure is down from 6,056 in December, 6,518 in November and 7,110 in October.

For a different perspective, the number of calls LPD receives each month has decreased by about 17 percent since October. On an average day in January, officers responded to 190 calls. In October that number was 229 calls a day.

The top five most common calls for January break down as follows.

• 1,133 traffic stops

• 770 requests to speak to an officer

• 298 follow-up investigations

• 291 auto accidents

• 264 calls involving animals

The criminal call in January that required the highest number of officers to respond was an early morning police chase on Jan. 12. As of Jan. 20, Lawrence Police Sgt. Amy Rhoads said the incident remains under investigation.

Rhoads declined to elaborate on the nature of the chase, however LPD activity logs and the public pages of police reports indicate that the chase began around 12:22 a.m. and that 15 Lawrence police officers responded to the call.

Douglas County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Kristen Dymacek said deputies helped to set up a perimeter and assisted in a search. She declined to offer additional information because the case is under investigation by LPD.

The chase began near the intersection of Clinton Parkway and Crestline Drive and ended on a park trail or outdoor recreational area, police reports indicate. It is unclear exactly where the chase ended, but the incident continued until 2:37 a.m.

The report indicates the suspect committed three offenses during the chase: reckless driving, felony obstruction and fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer while committing five or more moving violations.

Nobody has been arrested in connection with the incident, the Douglas County Jail’s online booking logs indicate.

Robberies

Three robberies were reported in January. Two were armed robberies while the other was reported as a strong armed robbery. Police have arrested suspects in two of the incidents, however the suspect in a third remains at large.

John Timothy Baker, 33, and Stacey Nichole Ballard, 23, were arrested on Jan. 17 on suspicion of aggravated robbery regarding a Jan. 8 incident where the two allegedly robbed a 23-year-old Lawrence man, LPD said in a release.

Around 9:30 p.m. on Jan. 8 Baker and Ballard pulled up next to the victim in a truck as he was walking near the intersection of West Campus Road and West Hills Terrace, according to police, and they then threatened him with a gun and demanded his belongings.

Both Baker and Ballard are currently being held in the Douglas County Jail in lieu of $150,000 and $100,000 bonds, respectively.

A second robbery was also reported on Jan. 8, where a 16-year-old girl told officers two boys had threatened her inside a vehicle with a gun around the 4600 block of West Sixth Street, Rhoads said. The two boys reportedly escaped with cash.

One of the two boys was later arrested, while the second was questioned and released, Rhoads said. Investigators will submit an affidavit to the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office for a charging decision, however.

Updates on the second robbery were not immediately available Thursday.

The third robbery of the month was reported the morning of Jan. 9 when Matthew James Stephens, 18, reportedly entered a Phillips 66 gas station, 1801 W. Second St. and threatened an employee with a hammer, demanding cash.

Stephens made off with $300, according to police. He was arrested Feb. 2 on suspicion of felony aggravated robbery.

Stephens was released from the Douglas County Jail on Feb. 6 after posting a $50,000 bond, jail logs indicate. He is scheduled to appear in court on Feb 13, when a date will be set for his preliminary hearing.