Crime Radar › Kansas

Lawrence, KS crime: up or down?

Newest FBI monthly report: Jul 2026

Jul 2026 looks incomplete so far (reports are still coming in), so this compares Apr–Jun 2026.

About normal for Lawrence
580 violent and property crimes reported, Apr–Jun 2026
Usual for these months
612
Per 1,000 residents, past year
23.2
Kansas overall: 22.7
Residents served
97,863
FBI estimate

Missing or partial reports to the FBI: Jan 2023 – Feb 2023, Jun 2023 – Aug 2023, Oct 2023 – Dec 2023, Jul 2026. Those months are left out of every comparison.

Open Lawrence on the map

The map adds deadly crashes, plus plate-reader cameras and police surveillance technology where they are known, and lets you save the place to see what changes.

The same months in past years

Next to similar-size cities

Among the 455 city police departments serving 50,000–100,000 residents in the 51 states loaded so far: violent crime 4.2 per 1,000 residents a year (78% of them report less), property crime 19 per 1,000 (73% report less).

The FBI warns against ranking places with these numbers: visitors, commuters, and how each department records and reports crime all differ. Treat this as context, not a grade.

Is Lawrence safe?

Crime Radar doesn't grade towns as safe or unsafe: one number can't say what a street is like, and the FBI warns against ranking places. What these reports can say is whether Lawrence has more or fewer reported crimes than it usually does, and that its yearly rate is 23.2 per 1,000 residents against 22.7 across Kansas. For one block, open it on the map.

How this works

Lawrence Police Department sends monthly counts of violent and property crime to the FBI. Crime Radar compares the newest complete three months with the same months in past years, and only calls a change when it's bigger than this department's usual ups and downs. Months with missing reports are left out, so a reporting gap never looks like a safe stretch. These are totals for everywhere the department patrols, not one street.

Not every crime reaches these numbers: in the national victim survey, about 6 in 10 serious violent crimes and 3 in 10 property crimes were reported to police in 2024 (BJS).

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