North Carolina Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program is part of a nationwide, cooperative statistical effort administered by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. While the program's primary objective is to generate a reliable set of criminal statistics for use in law enforcement administration, operation, and management, its data have over the years become one the country's leading social indicators.

The American public looks to Uniform Crime Reports for information on fluctuations in the level of crime, while criminologists, sociologists, legislators, municipal planners, the press and other students of criminal justice use the statistics for varied research and planning purposes.

Since 1973, law enforcement agencies throughout North Carolina have voluntarily submitted data to the State Bureau of Investigation on specific crimes committed in their areas of jurisdiction.

The Uniform Crime Reporting Program divides offenses into two major classifications which are designated Part 1 and Part 2. Law enforcement agencies report the number of offenses and associated crime data for the following Part 1 crimes: murder and non-negligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny, motor vehicle theft and arson. Part 1 offenses, excluding negligent manslaughter and arson, are used to calculate the Crime Index and Crime Rate. All other offenses are classified as Part 2 offenses, however, only arrest data are reported for Part 2 offenses.

The UCR Program collects data on the age, race, and sex of persons arrested for all crimes except traffic violations.

For more information about North Carolina crime statistics collected by the NC State Bureau of Investigation, please contact SBI Crime Reporting.