In recent months, both the Centralia Police Department and Centralia City Council have heard safety concerns and complaints from residents stemming from interactions with those experiencing homelessness at George Washington Park in downtown Centralia.
During the city council’s meeting on Tuesday night, Centralia Police Chief Stacy Denham provided the councilors with an update on current officer patrols at the park. He suggested the city look into purchasing mobile surveillance cameras to deter criminal activity.
Denham discussed these issues during a city manager update but he made no official request to purchase the cameras.
Centralia police officers have been walking through the park more frequently as complaints have been increasing, he said. Officers have done 20 walkthroughs so far, Denham said, during which officers responded to multiple trespassing and littering violations and broke up a verbal dispute.
Citations have also been issued for people smoking marijuana and drinking alcohol at George Washington Park.
“They also made a warrant arrest in the park after hours, and they made another warrant for an extraditable felony warrant out of Oklahoma that was in the park as well,” Denham said. “They also had an assault with no weapons, just an aggravated injury, there in front of the gazebo.”
Denham added his department is still understaffed and officers can only afford to do extra walkthroughs in George Washington Park alone right now. To address this issue, Denham has been researching other possible policing tools that could help with park security.
Throughout many other communities in Washington along Interstate 5, Denham said police departments now have mobile surveillance cameras to deter criminal activity in areas when it arises.
Multiple models are available, ranging from $35,000 to $54,000 depending on the manufacturer and options chosen. The cameras are mounted on trailers and marked with the police department’s logo along with a blue strobe light, and they run 24/7 and have night vision capabilities.
“We want people to be aware that law enforcement is watching,” Denham said.
All footage recorded by the cameras is deleted after seven days unless it is kept for an investigation, Denham said.
Live feed options are available for officers, meaning they can keep an eye on the park without physically being there.
“That type of a security camera is what I call a force multiplier … If something does happen, it does give us the ability to go back and potentially solve a crime that occurred there. Of course, the whole idea is to prevent crime so that we don’t have to arrest anybody or have anything to investigate,” Denham said.
He contacted other surrounding police departments using the cameras. Denham said he was told the cameras have helped solve some crimes, but mainly act as a crime deterrent. Since they are mobile, if criminal activity pops up in a new location, the camera can follow it to the new area.
Aside from the park, Denham said the mobile cameras could be deployed to the Centralia Outlets, which shoplifters frequently target.
Councilor Max Vogt said he believes no matter what actions are taken, George Washington Park will continue to have criminal activity and safety concerns due to parks becoming problem areas nationwide.
“Washington Park is probably going to be a permanent problem, because in parks in cities, it just seems that’s the way it’s going these days,” Vogt said. “When you said this I thought, ‘It might be cheaper and more efficient in Washington Park to establish some permanent cameras on light poles there.’”
He still supported purchasing a mobile surveillance camera, but with permanent cameras at the park, the mobile camera would be freed up to use elsewhere around town.
Denham believed the mobile cameras would suffice in improving security in the park, and no permanent cameras would be needed.
