Monday, April 30, 2001
The University Daily Kansan
Section A·Page 5
Police make cross-town move
Space constraints lead to expansion
By Lauren Brandenburg
writer@kansan.com
Kansas staff writer
The Lawrence Police Department will nearly triple its available space when it moves into a second building at 15th Street and Wakarusa Drive in late May.
"Just having had such little space, we're going to start realizing our potential growth," Sgt. Mike Patrick said.
The patrol, evidence and records divisions will remain in the 7,000-square-foot space the department currently occupies in the Douglas County Law and Judicial Enforcement Center, 111 E. 11th St. The new building, which is the former site of PSI Laboratories, will provide 13,000 square feet and will house most of the administration, including the training unit, special projects and detective divisions and the chief and his staff.
Patrick said the department had wanted a new facility since 1990, but had been turned down by the city on a few occasions.
The detective division will have space to grow in the new building and the training unit will have its
has to rely on their availability."
own facility instead of having to borrow facilities from others, such as the Fraternal Order of Police lodge, facilities at the Douglas County
has to rely on their availability. The space will help the department in smaller ways, too. Pattrick said officers sometimes had to stand during briefings at the beginning of shifts because there was little space to sit down in
"Just having had such little space, we're going to start realizing our potential growth."
the current building. The locker room will also have more space. At the current facility, officers have to take turns getting dressed because of its small size. However, keeping the department unified
Fairgrounds or the Lawrence visitor's center. Patrick said.
Sgt. Mike Pattrick Lawrence Police Department
"The department has never been able to expand the investigations division's number of people because there was no place to put them," Pattrick said. "The training can now happen in-house, and we won't have to borrow facilities. When we have to rely on another outside source, scheduling always
while it is divided between two locations is somewhat of a concern, Pattrick said.
"It will be the first time that we've actually split forces, half here and half there," he said. "We're aware of trying to keep the uniformity together."
He said he thought making officers aware of the potential problems would help prevent actual
problems. One other way the department will keep continuity will be through wireless and ground connectivity, Pattrick said.
He said when something is copied at the new building, it will be able to be copied in the old building at the same time. The wireless connection would also allow officers to type reports on laptops in their patrol cars and print the reports on the office printer.
Patrick said the department was also excited about the opportunity to better serve the western part of Lawrence and to provide those residents a closer option than the current facility.
Andy Bean, Colfax, Wisc., junior, who lives near 23rd Street and Wakarusa Drive, said he thought the police already did a good job of patrolling the city and did not think the new facility would directly affect too many students.
The new facility would be more convenient if he needed to file a report, he said.
Edited by Doug Pacey
Officer shortages hamper police, sheriff
By Lauren Brandenburg
writer @kansan.com
Kansas staff writer
The Lawrence Police Department is hiring nine new patrol officers, but Sgt. Mike Patrick said the department would continue to be short on officers compared to other departments.
Meanwhile, the Douglas County Sheriff's Department is continuing to hire, train, equip and lose staff members. Sheriff Rick Trapp said
Law enforcement agencies are being hit with shortages around the nation. Trapp and Patrick said.
Patrick said the Lawrence Police Department had dealt with a lack of officers for several years.
"It's a national problem because the economy is so good," Patrick said. "People can make similar pay without doing police work."
When the department's nine newly hired officers start, the department will be staffed at its authorized maximum capacity, Pattrick said. With its new hires, the department employs 123 officers and 34 civilian employees. Despite these numbers, the department has significantly fewer officers per household compared to departments in Topeka and Lenexa.
The shortages affect Lawrence police in reducing the number of
patrol officers on the streets and the amount of time the officers spend on proactive enforcement
— such as bar checks or sobriety checkpoints Patrick said. It also
dle some forgery cases.
"It has to fit certain criteria before we'll work them," he said.
However, he said, the department continued to deliver good service despite the shortages.
"Even with the resources given and the manpower, we still supply
"With days off and vacations and sick leave, it's hard to run a full district at any given
time."
superior quality law enforcement to Lawrence," he said. "We are still a fine police department and do fine police work."
Sheriff Rick Trapp
Douglas County Sheriff's Department
department advertised a salary range of $15.70 to $20.29 per hour in its search to hire experienced officers.
was short. In a survey his office conducted of 22 nearby law enforcement departments, The Douglas County Sheriff's Department ranked 19th in pay.
The department is six officers short right now, Trapp said, and soon it will be short by eight officers, which makes up about 10 percent of the department's deputies.
Sheriff's Lt. Kathy Tate said officers moving to the county were shocked at Douglas County's high cost of living.
Tate added that the department had high expectations of its employees, such as working holidays and giving up regular working hours, and that it was losing employees to better pay in the private sector or in law enforcement elsewhere.
The bottom line is that with a shortage of officers, fewer officers are available to patrol their beats.
"With days off and vacations and sick leave, it's hard to run a full district at any given time," Trapp said.
— Edited by Matt Daugherty
Downtown living brings perks, problems for students
Mass street residents enjoy proximity to bars could do without vandals
By Cynthia Malakasis
writer@kansan.com
Kansas staff writer
Unlike some people, Marc Tolar doesn't have to worry about a DUI after a night of partying. Tolar doesn't worry because he lives in the heart of downtown Lawrence, within walking distance of his weekend hang-outs.
Tolar, Hinshape, III., senior, lives at 911 Massachusetts St. practically in the center of downtown. Students who choose to live there say that, besides being close to some of the most popular student hang-outs, the style of the apartments and the urban environment were added perks.
Tolar said he enjoyed the two big skylights in his living room.
"It's modern apartments that you wouldn't find in one of those huge companies," he said. "It's a different experience from living in a college neighborhood."
ror Jennifer Gunby, downtown
Lawrence is "the center of everything." Gunby and her boyfriend live at 14th and Massachusetts streets. Although they're close to downtown, Gunby said they were trying to find a place in the heart of downtown for next year.
"Basically we live on downtown, but we want to live in the heart of
Gunby said some of her favorite activities were sitting on a bench with coffee or ice-cream and watching the down toown crowd.
Mass. Street,
where the old downtown is." said Gunby,
Roeland Park senior.
Helge Timenes, Kristensund, Norway, graduate student, said the main reason he lived downtown was the proximity to the KU campus.
"I don't have a car," he said. "You can get places and to campus."
But downtown living has bleak
"It's modern apartments that you wouldn't find in
But, at least for the now, Gunby will have to settle with living a few blocks away. She said she was trying to rent an apartment above the Bike Shop, 818 Massachusetts St. But she said the apartments available had a waiting list, and she didn't make it.
one of those huge companies. It's a different experience from living in a college neighborhood."
Marc Tolar
Hinsvale, Ill., senior
aspects as well.
And rew
Lumpkin,
Littleton,
Colo., senior,
lived
on Massachusetts
Street two
years ago.
Although he
said he would
not hesitate
moving back
there, the safety of his car
was a concern
Lumpkin said the unavailability of parking lots, which forced him to park on the street, was the reason for the vandalism.
during his entire stay.
"Me and everyone who I lived with down there had our cars broken into or vandalized," he said.
For Tolar, parking is not as much of a problem as are the high number of homeless people in the area because of a community center located nearby.
He said he once had a confrontation with a homeless person as he was coming home at night.
"We had a little pushing fight over my groceries," he said.
He said that in the morning he and his neighbors often found people passed out with empty bottles of whisky and cigarette butts around them.
He also said that mail, such as Federal Express packages, had been stolen because the back door to his building remained unlocked most of the time.
"It's not that I have anything against them, but they bother everybody here," he said of homeless people. "People don't feel comfortable with random people walking around."
But, despite the drawbacks, many students are still attracted to downtown living.
"I think it's great," Timenes said.
"I wouldn't move away from it."
— Edited by Sydne Wallace
Edited by Sydney Wallace
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