Schools, cops bickering over lockdowns

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - Albuquerque police contend some public schools aren't doing enough to keep kids safe while the schools say they're prepared for lockdowns just fine, thank you.

The problem? According to the Albuquerque Police Department some schools aren't getting the proper lockdown training. That would mean they're not fully prepared to deal with a gunman or an intruder that's out to hurt the students.

For its part the Albuquerque Public Schools district says APD is flat-out wrong and that the district's police force has conducted the proper training.

“My concern is that people would rather bury their head in the sand and pretend that this could not happen here, that it won’t happen here than prepare for the worst and hope for the best," APD Lt. William Roseman told KRQE News 13.

Preparing means lockdown training. APD offers free training to schools, but News 13 found dozens of them haven't take police up on the offer. Three have refused the training outright.

The principals at the schools all declined interview requests from News 13.

An APS spokesperson said the schools are in compliance because they have been
trained by APS police who offers the same training as APD.

However Roseman says it's not the same and that when a situation does come up, APS isn't in charge.

“Whenever there is an emergency at the school, and when that day of disaster comes, if it is a city school the Albuquerque police SWAT team will be the ones responding," he said. The APD training is tailored to the needs of the SWAT team, he added.

He said if schools are trained differently it could present a big problem.

"When a SWAT team comes through the door they find the school should be in certain situations," Roseman said. "That way they know this classroom is safe.”

A majority of the schools without the APD training are elementary schools.

While the threat from a student is low in those grades, Roseman said there are other dangers.

“The threat of someone coming off campus onto the school is high," he said. "You also have to look at your child abductions for that age group; you have to look at your pedophiles for that age group, disgruntled parents with custody battles.”

APS said schools undergo lockdown training twice each school year. The APD training takes an hour.

APS said the schools that haven't completed their training yet still have plenty of time left.
The district recently spent $327,000 dollars on more than 6,000 lockdown kits for all classrooms.

Each kit includes snacks, water, blankets, a flashlight, duct tape, a bucket, toilet paper and more. The kits were bought with grant money.