Despite Statewide Crime Increase, Data Show Crime Decreased in Lewis County in 2020

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While Washington as a whole saw crime increase in 2020, crime rates throughout Lewis County were lower in 2020 than they were in 2019, according to data recently released by the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs.

The report, titled Crime in Washington 2020, was assembled by the state Uniform Crime Reporting Program and is based on crime statistics data submitted by Washington law enforcement agencies through the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS).

The data included in the report is considered a “snapshot” of the state’s database as of April 20, 2021. “In NIBRS, there are no ‘fixed’ statistics because law enforcement agencies update their incidents as new information becomes available,” reads a disclaimer in the report.

A total of 211 agencies throughout Washington state reported data this year, and while combined numbers for the state as a whole showed a 7.1% increase in criminal offenses in 2020 compared to 2019, all reporting agencies in Lewis County reported decreases in criminal offences.

While the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reported an increase in the number of protection order violations, simple assaults, pornography offenses and arson cases compared to the previous year, the agency reported a 12.5% decrease in crime in 2020 compared to data reported in 2019. The county’s crime rate, which is calculated from the number of reported criminal offenses and the county’s population, was listed as 26 per 1,000.

The Chehalis Police Department reported a 0.8% decrease in crime, with a total 844 offenses in 2020 compared to 851 the previous year. The agency saw a significant increase in cases of fondling, with 12 reported offenses in 2020 compared to five the previous year.

The city’s crime rate was calculated at 111.8 per 1,000.

The Centralia Police Department reported a 6.1% decrease in crime, with a total 1,578 offenses in 2020 compared to 1,680 the previous year. The agency did see a significant increase in fraud offenses — with 98 offenses reported in 2020 compared to 35 in 2019 — along with an increase in intimidation cases, with 37 reported in 2020 and 25 reported in 2019, and an increase in arson and statutory rape offenses, with three of each reported in 2020 compared to one of each in 2019.



The city’s crime rate was calculated at 91.3 per 1,000.

Aside from reporting one additional burglary than it did the year before, the Toledo Police Department saw significant decreases in all types of criminal offenses, reporting a total 46.2% decrease in crime compared to the year prior. The agency reported a total 14 offenses in 2020, compared to 26 in 2019.

The city’s crime rate was calculated at 19.2 per 1,000.

The Winlock Police Department saw a similar decrease in all types of criminal offenses, reporting a total 29.9% decrease in crime compared to the year prior. The agency reported a total 19 offenses in 2020, compared to 26 in 2019.

The city’s crime rate was calculated at 13.6 per 1,000.

The vast majority of arrests for all Lewis County agencies who submitted data were for assault-related offenses, followed by larceny/theft offenses, violations of protection orders and drug/narcotic violations.

The full report is accessible online at waspc.org/crime-statistics-reports.