The Lawrence Police Department announced a new procedure yesterday for handling noise complaints.

Under the new procedure, officers may issue a citation without contacting the complainant. This will allow officers to handle more complaints and address them much faster during the weekends, which are their busiest times.

The department receives an average of eight to 10 noise complaints each night from Thursday to Saturday, said Sgt. Dan Ward, department spokesman.

Complaints are also usually higher during holidays.

Last Halloween, for example, the police department had approximately 70 noise complaints and didn’t have the resources to respond to them all, Ward said.