Lawrence Mayor Launches Summer Crime Prevention Initiative

LAWRENCE (CBS) – The mayor of Lawrence has launched a new campaign to make his city a better place to live.

Mayor Dan Rivera said 10 police officers have been added to the force to kick off the summer crime prevention initiative.

The program will also focus on quality of life issues.

One of the priorities is cutting down on loud music. On weekend nights, two officers will roam the city writing tickets for $200 fines for excess noise.

"Noise complaints are a symptom of a larger sense of lawlessness in our city," Rivera said.  "People do not care that they are disturbing others with their music because they think that the authorities do not care and they can't do anything about it. And that has to stop now."

Lawrence police say they had more than 1,000 noise complaints during the summer months last year.

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