In its second town hall of the year Tuesday evening, the Centralia Police Department found itself answering similar questions as it did during the first event in March.
Chief Andy Caldwell, Commander Buddy Croy and Commander David Clary fielded community inquiries on a range of topics, most notably public safety in Centralia’s parks, crime statistics and immigration.
Caldwell set the tone within the first minute of the town hall at Centralia City Hall, telling the packed house that the conversation in March “turned a little too political” and that a community member left that meeting because of it.
“I don’t want to do that. One of the things I wanted to do was hopefully set the tone already that we want to address local issues,” Caldwell said. “We’re not here to debate federal laws.”
However, the topic of immigration and local enforcement of federal laws still crept its way into the meeting. A community member who said they did not attend the first meeting asked the department to confirm its stance on enforcing federal immigration policies. As Caldwell said in March, the department cannot address non-criminal immigration violations.
“We don’t have the authority to enforce federal laws. Federal laws or federal agents are not bound by state law. We do have a statute that prevents us from interfering with any type of federal operation,” Caldwell said. “Our stance is if there’s an incident, we will go to keep the peace.”
Caldwell told attendees that rumors of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) vehicles or operations being spotted in Centralia are “100% false.”
“In Centralia, we have not had any ICE arrests for what’s called a civil immigration violation. They have only been crimes or people that have been engaged in criminal behavior who also had the civil immigration violation,” Caldwell said.
Residents also grilled the police department within the opening minutes of the town hall about public safety, most notably in the city’s parks. After a resident asked about starting a neighborhood watch team, Nicholas Martin asked the department about doing the same or having additional patrols at the city’s parks.
“I’ve personally spoken with women at the park carrying bear mace because they don’t feel safe. That’s wild,” Martin said. “I have a 5-year-old daughter that I want to do stuff with in the community, and I don’t feel safe taking her places a lot of the time because of the way the world is right now. Calling the police, and I’m not saying anything negative to you guys, but it almost feels like we’re not getting anywhere.”
Caldwell encouraged residents to call the department if they are feeling unsafe in the parks, even if residents assume officers are busy with other tasks.
“So often when I talk to people, they don't report it. It’s hard for us to track trends when people don’t call us and report to us what’s happening,” Caldwell said. “We’re not blind to things. We see it. But it helps if our officers are tied up on one thing if you let us know there’s something happening on the other side of town.”
Clary added that people misbehaving and making community members feel unsafe will “usually shy away, pack up their stuff and stop doing the thing that they’re doing” when police arrive.
From January to May, Caldwell said Centralia officers have trespassed 137 people from local businesses or parks and that the department has taken “a more aggressive stance” after hearing numerous reports of feeling unsafe in the parks. In May alone, Caldwell said the department spent almost $9,000 on arresting members of the transient population in town. He and other community members believe that residents going to the parks and businesses in bunches will deter misbehaving people.
“It’s about getting people to start using the amenities and resources we have. If you look around, we have a gorgeous city. We have great amenities,” Caldwell said. “I don’t think those people want to be there the more they’re being used. I think there is an element that likes being excluded or separated from what people are engaging in.”
Centralia police provided handouts to attendees with the department’s report on calls from the first half of 2025 (January through June).
The department has seen a 7% drop in calls for service and complaints compared to the first half of 2024, with 6,680 calls this year against 7,196 last year. That figure has dropped each of the last three years.
However, traffic infraction notices have spiked 63% from 542 in the first six months of 2025 to 332 in the same timeframe last year. Traffic collision reports have decreased 24% from 335 last year to 255 this year.
Warrants served saw another significant increase, with police serving 456 felony or misdemeanor warrants so far this year compared to 395 in the first half of 2024 — a 15% jump.
Totals in criminal trespass (down 15%), disorderly conduct (down 22%), recovered stolen vehicles (down 38%), shoplifting (down 29%), and destruction/damage/vandalism (down 18%) have decreased.
Caldwell said trends from the recent Crime in Washington 2024 Annual Report, which show that most crime rates are down in Washington state, are true in Centralia, as well. The report can be found at https://tinyurl.com/376u7h8t.
“It’s tracking almost identically to what Centralia is tracking, which is good because that means we’re doing our job. We are seeing a reduction in most crime across the board,” Caldwell said. “One of the things that the Washington Association of Sheriffs & Police Chiefs attribute the reduction in crime to is the fact that we’re allowed to pursue people again.”
