Crime recorded in Central, and why it isn’t graded
Central’s police reported to the FBI for 2025 but not 2023 or 2024, so there is no Safety Grade: the grade needs all three years, 2023–2025. For a graded neighbor, the nearest is Baker (C), 7 miles away. Within a 25-mile drive lie 6 towns that have a grade.
For every 1,000 residents, about 1 property crime reported
Violent crime per 1,000 residents, 2025
Property crime per 1,000 residents, 2025
Crimes reported to police in 2025 per resident; one person can be the victim of more than one, and some reports involve visitors.
And fewer than 1 violent crime, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.
The years Central’s police reported
Show as a table
| Year | Central | Rest of Louisiana | Central | Rest of Louisiana |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | not reported | 42.7 | not reported | 10.1 |
| 2023 | not reported | 43.2 | not reported | 9.4 |
| 2024 | not reported | 34.5 | not reported | 8.9 |
| 2025 | 0.6 | 30.4 | 0.1 | 8.4 |
Crimes per 1,000 residents
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents, against the rest of Louisiana. A year the department didn’t report in full is a gap, not a zero.
21 crimes reported in 2025
2025 offenses reported
Offenses reported to police, not convictions. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting. The last row is counted outside the property total.
2 violent and 19 property, as reported to the FBI by Central’s police.
The nearest Louisiana towns with a Safety Grade
| Town | Grade | Distance | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baker | C | 7 mi | 4.0 | 15.4 |
| Zachary | C− | 11 mi | 3.3 | 20.7 |
| Port Allen | D− | 13 mi | 12.6 | 23.8 |
| Addis | A− | 19 mi | 0.8 | 5.9 |
| Plaquemine | D− | 23 mi | 10.2 | 30.0 |
| Gonzales | D | 25 mi | 5.2 | 40.3 |
Straight-line distance from the center of Central. Nearby towns can differ a lot from Central.
Each town’s own police figures, per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
15 people died in crashes on Central’s roads in 2019–2023
Central had 15 fatal crashes in five years, in which 15 people died; 1 was a pedestrian.
That is 10.1 deaths per 100,000 residents a year, about the same as the median for Louisiana towns of 25,000–100,000 people (11.3, 11 towns).
Deaths are counted where the crash happened, not where the people lived: a highway through town adds through-traffic deaths, and residents’ own risk on roads elsewhere isn’t here. Town rates sit below state and U.S. rates because a third of fatal crashes happen outside any town. Road safety is described here and is not part of the Safety Grade. Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023.
Central and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Denham Springs | — | — | — |
| Brownfields | — | — | — |
| Zachary | C− | 3.3 | 20.7 |
| Monticello | — | — | — |
| St. George | — | — | — |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Denham Springs and St. George have no FBI figures of their own for 2023–2025. Brownfields and Monticello are unincorporated communities (census-designated places) with no police department of their own.
How reported crime compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its safety page.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- It’s reported crime. Only incidents reported to and recorded by police appear here. Many crimes are never reported to police.
- One number for all of Central. A town-wide rate doesn’t show where incidents happen, and that can differ a lot from one part of town to another.
- Visitors count too. Incidents involving people who work, shop or visit are counted against Central’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (30,312 in 2025); our figure for Central is 30,313 (2025 Census estimate).
- Gaps are real gaps. A missing year means the department didn’t report a full year, not that nothing happened.
How the grade is calculated, for every town: How TownRatings grades safety →
Questions about safety in Central
Is Central, LA safe?
There is no Safety Grade for Central. The nearest Louisiana towns with a grade are Baker (C, 7 mi), Zachary (C−, 11 mi), Port Allen (D−, 13 mi).
Who polices Central?
Central’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Central”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
Please don’t name or describe individuals. In an emergency, call 911.
Neighbors looking out for each other in Central.
Crime: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime Data Explorer: offenses known to law enforcement by city, 2025, and state and national rates. Counts are crimes reported to police, not convictions. The Safety Grade is our own summary of that data, not an official rating. Road deaths: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023. This isn’t an official statement of public safety. In an emergency, call 911.