NORTH CAROLINA AGENCY GUIDES
Wake County law enforcement
A detailed guide to Wake County law enforcement, agency jurisdictions, local history, courts, FBI and SBI office coverage, and published crime data.
- County seat
- Raleigh
- Established
- 1771
- Region
- Piedmont / Research Triangle
- County government
- Official county website
Wake County at a glance
Wake County has one of the most varied agency landscapes in this directory: the county sheriff, numerous municipal police departments, public and private university police, community-college police, airport police, hospital police, local ABC enforcement and company-police services. Raleigh is both the county seat and the state capital. A Raleigh mailing address can belong to any of several distinct institutions and must not be mistaken for proof that every officer works for Raleigh Police.
The county’s municipalities include Apex, Cary, Fuquay-Varina, Garner, Holly Springs, Knightdale, Morrisville, Raleigh, Rolesville, Wake Forest, Wendell and Zebulon. Airport property, college campuses, hospital facilities and contracted company-police sites add more specific service areas within the regional landscape. Some municipalities and institutions cross county lines. County indexing is a navigation aid; it is not a substitute for a verified jurisdiction map or an explanation of a particular agency’s authority.
Law enforcement in Wake County
The sheriff identifies itself as the primary agency for unincorporated Wake County while also supplying judicial and detention services. Raleigh uses six police districts. RDU police serves airport property; Wake ABC has specialized alcohol-law functions. NC State, Meredith, Shaw, Saint Augustine’s and Wake Tech identify campus police services, while WakeMed describes police and security across its health-system locations. Capitol Special Police and Allied Universal provide property-specific company-police services and must not be described as unrestricted countywide forces. State Capitol Police, SBI, legislative police and other state organizations are handled in the statewide directory instead of being duplicated as Wake municipal departments.
County history and community context
Wake County was formed in 1771 from parts of Johnston, Cumberland and Orange counties and named for Margaret Wake Tryon, according to State Library history. The official state directory confirms Raleigh as its seat. Modern agency milestones are separately documented: Wake Tech dates its College Police Department to 2012; Wendell and Morrisville report national accreditation in November 2023; Capitol Special Police dates its private company’s founding to August 2002. These are different kinds of institutional events and should retain that context.
Courts, public records and official resources
The sheriff publishes separate public-records, sheriff-records, civil-process and detention routes. Many municipal departments maintain Police to Citizen, crash reports, annual reports or transparency pages. Campus Clery reports use specified campus geography, and hospital/company-police records arise from different institutional settings. RDU separately identifies administration, non-emergency assistance and emergency communications. The Wake courthouse page is only one court-location resource; visitors should follow the building instructions for their particular case and distinguish court records from sheriff or police reports.
The North Carolina Judicial Branch’s Wake County page links local court contacts, calendars, jury information and court-location guidance. The courthouse location is 316 Fayetteville St. Mall Raleigh, NC 27601. The published main telephone is (919) 792-4000. Check the Judicial Branch page for the correct building and current schedule before traveling; a police station, detention center and clerk’s office are different service destinations.
FBI and SBI regional offices
FBI office coverage
Raleigh covers Wake 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 | 41 |
| Rape | 269 |
| Robbery | 534 |
| Aggravated assault | 2,471 |
| Burglary | 2,335 |
| Larceny-theft | 17,959 |
| Motor vehicle theft | 2,941 |
Published county-table Index total: 26,550. SBI Index offenses by agency in county.
| Published agency label | Index total | Murder | Rape | Robbery | Aggravated assault | Burglary | Larceny | Vehicle theft |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wake Co. Sheriff | 1,317 | 4 | 23 | 19 | 232 | 189 | 638 | 212 |
| Raleigh | 16,239 | 24 | 179 | 422 | 1,761 | 1,473 | 10,316 | 2,064 |
| Apex | 460 | 3 | 2 | 10 | 29 | 27 | 369 | 20 |
| Cary | 2,530 | 3 | 14 | 23 | 91 | 162 | 2,051 | 186 |
| Fuquay-Varina | 305 | 0 | 6 | 5 | 21 | 29 | 233 | 11 |
| Garner | 1,787 | 1 | 10 | 17 | 103 | 124 | 1,415 | 117 |
| Knightdale | 644 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 31 | 36 | 497 | 71 |
| Wake Forest | 814 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 71 | 58 | 630 | 44 |
| Wendell | 197 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 19 | 41 | 111 | 23 |
| Zebulon | 290 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 26 | 38 | 194 | 23 |
| WakeMed Campus Police | 93 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 10 | 74 | 2 |
| Rolesville | 56 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 40 | 8 |
| State Capitol Police | 43 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 10 | 14 | 9 | 1 |
| Morrisville | 827 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 19 | 49 | 690 | 55 |
| Raleigh-Durham Airport | 167 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 92 | 70 |
| NC State University | 315 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 40 | 250 | 15 |
| Holly Springs | 460 | 0 | 11 | 4 | 44 | 36 | 346 | 19 |
| Falls Lake State Rec. Area | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Jordan Lake State Rec. Area | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| William B. Umstead State Park | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Angier Police Department | 16 | 72 | 20 | 0 |
| Apex Police Department | 37 | 566 | 104 | 33 |
| Cary Police Department | 138 | 1,775 | 194 | 46 |
| Clayton Police Department | 38 | 355 | 66 | 5 |
| Durham Police Department | 1,556 | 11,002 | 353 | 167 |
| Fuquay-Varina Police Department | 37 | 228 | 70 | 10 |
| Garner Police Department | 173 | 1,290 | 74 | 11 |
| Holly Springs Police Department | Not published | Not published | 82 | 20 |
| Knightdale Police Department | 46 | 511 | 45 | 4 |
| Meredith College Campus Police | Not published | Not published | 2 | 9 |
| Morrisville Police Department | 28 | 764 | 44 | 5 |
| North Carolina State University Police Department | 8 | 247 | 47 | 17 |
| Raleigh Police Department | 1,993 | 11,648 | 713 | 125 |
| Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority Police Department | 4 | 109 | 47 | 1 |
| Rolesville Police Department | 10 | 40 | 25 | 2 |
| Wake County Sheriff’s Office | 254 | 987 | 354 | 465 |
| Wake Forest Police Department | 50 | 589 | 96 | 20 |
| WakeMed Campus Police and Public Safety | 16 | 115 | 49 | 46 |
| Wendell Police Department | 18 | 192 | 27 | 3 |
| Zebulon Police Department | 44 | 253 | 25 | 5 |
These are individual agency rows, not whole-county totals. Cross-county departments may serve territory beyond Wake 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.
- Dorothea Dix Hospital Police: Legacy hospital entry; current independent agency not verified. Do not confuse former hospital policing with current park or state responsibilities. Reconciliation source; roster is not current-operation proof
- NC Museum of Art Park Police: This historical reporting label appears in the FBI tables, but the current organizational arrangement and public police contact were not independently confirmed. Consult the museum or State Capitol Police for current routing; it is not listed as a separately verified current employer here. Reconciliation source; roster is not current-operation proof
- NC State Fairgrounds Police: The current NC Agriculture directory confirms State Fair Police leadership and a public-safety contact. See the North Carolina State Fair Police profile in the statewide section. Official current police roles
- Jordan Lake State Recreation Area: Roster appears under Wake; facility and agency should be reconciled to statewide parks geography, not asserted as an independent Wake local department. Reconciliation source; roster is not current-operation proof
- Statewide agency headquarters and facilities: SBI, State Capitol Police, General Assembly Police, Secretary of State enforcement and other state agencies are indexed centrally, not duplicated as local Wake agencies. Official source or dated roster context
- Falls Lake and William B. Umstead state facilities: State park units; use the statewide parks-ranger profile. Official source or dated roster context
- Company-police contract sites: Allied Universal and Capitol Special Police have documented operations, but county links do not establish unrestricted territory. Official source or dated roster context
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.
- NC government county formation, seat and official website directory
- Official county government
- Official county sheriff
- NC Judicial Branch county court information
- NC Judicial Branch courthouse address and contact
- Apex Police Department official information
- Cary Police Department official information
- Fuquay-Varina Police Department official information
- Garner Police Department official information
- Holly Springs Police Department official information
- Knightdale Police Department official information
- Morrisville Police Department official information
- Raleigh Police Department official information
- Rolesville Police Department official information
- Wake Forest Police Department official information
- Wendell Police Department official information
- Zebulon Police Department official information
- Meredith College Campus Police official information
- Shaw University Campus Police and Security official information
- Saint Augustine’s University Campus Police official information
- Wake Technical Community College Police Department official information
- North Carolina State University Police Department official information
- Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority Police Department official information
- Wake County ABC Law Enforcement official information
- WakeMed Campus Police and Public Safety official information
- Capitol Special Police official information
- Allied Universal Special Police official information
- State Library county history
- Raleigh district structure
- Official source or dated roster context
- Official source or dated roster context