NORTH CAROLINA AGENCY GUIDES
Forsyth County law enforcement
A detailed guide to Forsyth County law enforcement, agency jurisdictions, local history, courts, FBI and SBI office coverage, and published crime data.
- County seat
- Winston-Salem
- Established
- 1849
- Region
- Piedmont
- County government
- Official county website
Forsyth County at a glance
Forsyth County brings together Winston-Salem, its county seat, Kernersville and several universities. The county directory includes separate municipal, sheriff, campus and ABC enforcement organizations. These distinctions are especially relevant when researching an officer's employer or seeking the policy applicable to a particular department.
The county sits in the Piedmont and spans drainage areas associated with the Yadkin-Pee Dee, Cape Fear and Roanoke basins. Winston-Salem's urban setting and surrounding communities create a policing landscape broader than a single city department. Universities operate their own public-safety organizations within that landscape.
Law enforcement in Forsyth County
Winston-Salem and Kernersville operate municipal police departments alongside the county sheriff. Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem State University and the UNC School of the Arts each maintain a separate police organization. The Triad Municipal ABC Board has its own law-enforcement function. Kernersville describes a multi-agency impaired-driving task force with Winston-Salem Police and the sheriff; participation does not create another independent police department. Forsyth Technical Community College documents a fully sworn campus police department. The state ABC Commission also verifies the separate Triad Municipal ABC law-enforcement function; its regional name does not establish jurisdiction over every Triad county.
County history and community context
Forsyth County was created from Stokes County in 1849. Its history is connected to the communities that developed into Winston-Salem and to later educational and industrial growth. A county formation date is not a substitute for an agency's documented institutional history.
Courts, public records and official resources
Start with the office that created the record. The law-enforcement sources below identify the sheriff and any independently verified municipal or campus departments; a report from one department is not automatically maintained by another. For a court filing, judgment, civil action, or case-calendar question, use the county Judicial Branch page and the Clerk of Superior Court contacts linked there. County-government sources provide a separate route to county departments and administrative records. This directory does not promise access to confidential personnel files, investigative material, or recordings, and it does not state a release deadline without a verified applicable rule.
The North Carolina Judicial Branch maintains the Forsyth County court-services page at https://www.nccourts.gov/locations/forsyth-county. Its county navigation provides local court information, courthouse and contact details, calendars, local rules and forms, and jury-service guidance. Consult the Judicial Branch page for the particular matter and current filing instructions; the sheriff, a municipal police station, a jail, and the courthouse are different destinations. Verify the hearing location and case-specific notice before traveling.
FBI and SBI regional offices
FBI office coverage
Greensboro covers Forsyth 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
Northern Piedmont District — Greensboro · 501 Industrial Ave., Greensboro, N.C. 27406 · (336) 303-4840. 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 | 36 |
| Rape | 151 |
| Robbery | 271 |
| Aggravated assault | 1,968 |
| Burglary | 1,812 |
| Larceny-theft | 6,817 |
| Motor vehicle theft | 953 |
Published county-table Index total: 12,008. SBI Index offenses by agency in county.
| Published agency label | Index total | Murder | Rape | Robbery | Aggravated assault | Burglary | Larceny | Vehicle theft |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forsyth Co. Sheriff | 1,504 | 5 | 28 | 17 | 246 | 259 | 889 | 60 |
| Kernersville | 966 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 54 | 99 | 759 | 42 |
| Winston-Salem | 9,518 | 29 | 120 | 247 | 1,668 | 1,453 | 5,150 | 851 |
| UNC School of the Arts | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| Triad ABC | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forsyth County Sheriff's Office | 234 | 1,358 | 278 | 276 |
| High Point Police Department | 623 | 2,311 | 207 | 72 |
| Kernersville Police Department | 63 | 811 | 69 | 20 |
| King Police Department | 8 | 162 | 27 | 3 |
| Triad Municipal ABC Law Enforcement | Not published | Not published | 4 | 1 |
| University of North Carolina School of the Arts Police Department | Not published | Not published | 16 | 8 |
| Wake Forest University Police Department | 1 | 116 | 10 | 8 |
| Winston-Salem Police Department | 1,910 | 7,683 | 438 | 177 |
| Winston-Salem State University Police and Public Safety | Not published | Not published | 15 | 13 |
These are individual agency rows, not whole-county totals. Cross-county departments may serve territory beyond Forsyth 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 →
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.