NORTH CAROLINA AGENCY GUIDES
Chatham County law enforcement
A detailed guide to Chatham County law enforcement, agency jurisdictions, local history, courts, FBI and SBI office coverage, and published crime data.
- County seat
- Pittsboro
- Established
- 1771
- Region
- Piedmont
- County government
- Official county website
Chatham County at a glance
Chatham County’s county seat is Pittsboro. County government’s emergency-related department directory identifies the sheriff, Pittsboro Police, and Siler City Police as separate law-enforcement contacts. The two town departments are independent of the sheriff, even where agencies coordinate on emergency response or investigations.
Chatham lies in the Piedmont. Pittsboro’s official police page places the town near Jordan Lake and the Triangle communities of Chapel Hill, Durham, and Raleigh. Lake, municipal, and unincorporated settings should be distinguished when identifying an agency. Siler City provides a separate western-county municipal contact.
Law enforcement in Chatham County
The sheriff lists its administrative contact at 295 West Street in Pittsboro and publishes victim-service information. Pittsboro describes continuous protection through patrol, community policing, and investigations. Siler City distinguishes 24-hour patrol from weekday front-desk hours and locates its department at 312 North Chatham Avenue. For an employment, records, or disciplinary inquiry, the actual employer and report-creating agency matter more than a generic Chatham County description. The county emergency-directory links provide a practical route to the correct local organization.
County history and community context
Chatham was created from Orange County in 1771 amid the upheaval associated with the Regulator movement. It was named for William Pitt, Earl of Chatham. Pittsboro’s name also honors Pitt. The area’s earlier history includes Indigenous communities followed by Scottish, English, and German settlers. This historical context is separate from modern growth and the organizational histories of the county’s current departments.
Courts, public records and official resources
The Chatham County government website is the starting point for county department contacts, board materials, property information, and the Register of Deeds. The sheriff and any municipal or campus police department maintain their own operational records; identify the agency that created a report before directing an inquiry. For older county material, the State Archives County Records Guide separates court, land, estate, tax, and other record series. Its finding aids describe archival holdings rather than promising that a particular file is available online.
The North Carolina Judicial Branch maintains a dedicated Chatham County page with courthouse information, a contact directory, jury-service guidance, local rules and forms, and payment information. It also links the statewide eCourts services. Use the county contact directory to identify the Clerk of Superior Court or another court office; a police station is not the filing office for a court case. Court schedules and building instructions should be checked on the Judicial Branch site before a visit.
FBI and SBI regional offices
FBI office coverage
Raleigh covers Chatham County under the Charlotte Field Office. The FBI investigates federal matters; this assignment does not replace local emergency response.
Charlotte Field Office: 704-672-6100 · 7915 Microsoft Way, Charlotte, NC 28273. Official FBI coverage directory.
NC SBI district
Capital District — Raleigh · 3320 Garner Rd., Raleigh NC, 27610 · (984) 204-2760. Official SBI district-office directory.
For an emergency call 911. The federal and state office contacts are provided for jurisdictional research and administrative inquiries.
Published crime and personnel data
The NC SBI’s county table reports selected Index offenses from contributing agencies in 2024. It is separate from the FBI’s 2025 reporting year and is not a count of all possible offenses.
| Offense category | Published count |
|---|---|
| Murder and nonnegligent manslaughter | 2 |
| Rape | 24 |
| Robbery | 8 |
| Aggravated assault | 77 |
| Burglary | 217 |
| Larceny-theft | 548 |
| Motor vehicle theft | 60 |
Published county-table Index total: 936. SBI Index offenses by agency in county.
| Published agency label | Index total | Murder | Rape | Robbery | Aggravated assault | Burglary | Larceny | Vehicle theft |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chatham Co. Sheriff | 565 | 2 | 14 | 2 | 49 | 174 | 289 | 35 |
| Siler City | 217 | 0 | 9 | 5 | 25 | 31 | 127 | 20 |
| Pittsboro | 154 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 12 | 132 | 5 |
A county total depends on the reporting agencies and source-table coverage. Missing agencies or blank values must not be treated as zero. Published totals are not a safety ranking and do not establish an agency’s performance.
| Agency | Reported violent crime | Reported property crime | Full-time sworn · Oct. 31 | Full-time civilian · Oct. 31 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apex Police Department | 37 | 566 | 104 | 33 |
| Cary Police Department | 138 | 1,775 | 194 | 46 |
| Chatham County Sheriff's Office | 87 | 391 | 92 | 81 |
| Pittsboro Police Department | 10 | 94 | 17 | 1 |
| Siler City Police Department | 33 | 178 | 23 | 2 |
| UNC Hospitals Police | Not published | Not published | 32 | 109 |
These are individual agency rows, not whole-county totals. Cross-county departments may serve territory beyond Chatham County. Each linked profile identifies its FBI source table and reporting label. Do not sum these rows to compare with the SBI’s different year and coverage.
Explore statewide FBI figures, reporting definitions and methodology →
Service arrangements and roster notes
Historical reporting lists can include former departments, contract arrangements, facilities and subordinate units. The notes below distinguish those entries from the agency profiles above.
- UNC Hospitals Police — Chatham Hospital: A UNC Health hospital-police officer position in Siler City and its current leadership description verify institutional police responsibilities at Chatham Hospital. The agency is profiled once under Orange County; this is not a countywide patrol jurisdiction. UNC Health — Chatham sworn officer role · UNC Health — hospital police facility responsibilities
Sources and review date
Official agency, government and institutional sources are linked below. Contact details and organizational information were reviewed September 24, 2026. Published statistical years are identified separately.