The Chehalis Police Department (CPD) and the Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation have an agreement in place to allow CPD officers to book arrestees into the Chehalis Tribal Jail as an alternative facility due to what the city calls “unpredictable” Lewis County Jail restrictions.
The Chehalis City Council voted unanimously Monday to approve the agreement, sparked by longtime restrictions that often prevent the CPD from booking arrestees into the Lewis County Jail for certain types of crimes.
Generally, that meant only people arrested for Class A or Class B felony offenses or certain misdemeanors, such as driving under the influence or domestic assault, could be booked in their jail when restrictions were in place.
According to the city, these restrictions usually were implemented with little notice and often lasted for months.
The Centralia Police Department began booking suspects into the Chehalis Tribal Jail with a similar agreement back in February 2024.
According to previous Chronicle reporting, the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office implemented booking restrictions at the jail in 2019 due to a remodeling project and remained in place years later due to ongoing staffing issues. COVID-19 restrictions also contributed to a reduced population at the jail.
“Since Centralia already has to transport arrestees to a location outside of their jurisdiction, they’ve found that the lower daily cost of incarceration at the Chehalis Tribal Jail, along with the convenience of not worrying about booking restrictions, has worked out well for them,” Chehalis Police Chief Randy Kaut wrote in a city council agenda report.
Since the Lewis County Jail is located within CPD’s area and the agency typically only has two officers on duty at any given time, Kaut said booking arrestees at the county jail is still its preference but that having an alternative location to transport arrestees would be “invaluable” and would save the city money.
The 2026 cost of incarceration at the Lewis County Jail is $114.06 per bed day. At the Chehalis Tribal Jail, the cost would be $85 per bed day, as well as $20 per prisoner for booking. The tribe may adjust these fees over time as it sees fit.
The Chehalis Tribal Jail will be the secondary booking location for CPD.
All criminal arrests are subject to a supervisor override for booking by the sheriff’s office, according to Kaut, although he told The Chronicle that such authority is rarely deployed. City staff has worked with Chehalis Municipal Court to ensure that any court-related functions, such as online hearings, would still function well within the tribal jail system.
Stacy Denham, current Chehalis city manager, was the Centralia police chief when that department entered the agreement with the Chehalis Tribal Jail.
He told The Chronicle in 2024 that the tribal jail is not beholden to the same regulations that the Lewis County Jail and other non-tribal jails are subject to, and that the booking process is faster than at the sheriff’s office.
The term of the agreement continues until Dec. 31, 2026, and will automatically renew at successive one-year intervals thereafter unless terminated or modified in a writing executed by both parties.
