New Roswell police chief talks plan for public safety

ROSWELL, N.M. – The City of Roswell has a new police chief that started on Friday, June 2, 2023. It may have been his first day on the job, but he is no stranger to Roswell. 

The city council unanimously approved Chief Lance Bateman’s appointment last month. After a brief retirement from the New Mexico State Police, Bateman is back in law enforcement as the Roswell Chief of Police. 

“We all have one goal we want to live in a safe community. The police officers want that, the community wants that, and I look forward to seeing what we can do here,” said Bateman. 

Bateman brings more than 20 years of experience to his new position. Most recently, serving as a commander for state police where he was one of the first officers on scene of the 2014 Berrendo Middle School shooting. 

“I’ve had a meeting with the superintendent already by phone and I have a meeting here in the next couple weeks. His goal is the same as mine, to make sure we have a safe environment,” Bateman said. 

He said that day changed him as an officer and even shaped one of his goals as he steps into his new role. 

“What we are going to do is integrate more officers into the school system. Right now, we have two SRO I want to expand that to four full-time hopefully starting with the next year,” said Bateman. 

Bateman also wants to focus on officer retention and recruitment by adding 13 officers to the force. 

“We have positions to fill, so we are going to be recruiting hard and some of the things we are looking at is retention and making sure our morale is good, and they want to stay,” said the Roswell police chief.