More crime in Southern Colorado means more lockdowns at schools

Lockdown and school shooting drills happen every month at school districts all across southern Colorado to prepare for emergency incidents.

“Lockdowns are the most common,” said Devra Ashby, Public Information Officer for District 11.

About nine our of 10 of these lockdowns turn out to be insignificant. But for the one that does impact the school, it’s important to be ready.

“A lot of the time, we’ll go into a lockdown and it’ll be less than five minutes,” said Ashby. “When something does happen, they’re ready to be in that drill and to be in place where they need to be.”

According to Ashby, if a principal feel that the school is in jeopardy or there’s something in the neighborhood that could put their students at risk, they can put their school on lock down.

At the same time, law enforcement will lock down a school is something significant happens in the area.

“When we make notification that there may be an armed suspect in or around a school, we make one telephone call consulting with the school district and the school itself. They’ll then put the school on lockdown,” said Lt. Howard Black with the Colorado Springs Police Department.

Police and the school districts both want to remind students and parents, if you see something, say something. If something seems suspicious, it’s best to call 911 or report it to a trusted adult.