By Jordan Meadows
Staff Writer
Crime fell across all four major categories tracked by the NC Department of Public Safety during the first six months of 2026, compared with the same period in 2025, according to a new report presented at the Governor's Crime Commission meeting on Thursday morning in Raleigh.
The DPS report found property crime fell 11.9%, the steepest decline of the four categories tracked, followed by violent crime down 5.8%, drug crime down 3.2% and financial crime down 2.1%.
Within violent crime, murder fell 12.4%, robbery declined 17.7%, aggravated assault dropped 3.1%, and rape and sexual assault fell 5%. Firearm homicides specifically fell 14.1% and other firearm-related crimes fell 8%, though weapons violations rose 2.1%.
Within property crime, motor vehicle theft dropped 22.6%, burglary fell 14.2%, and larceny and theft declined 9.8%; financial crime saw counterfeiting and forgery fall 25.2%, extortion and blackmail decline 15.6%, embezzlement drop 7%, and fraud edge down 0.3%. Drug crime split into equipment violations, down 3.7%, and drug and narcotic violations, down 2.9%.
At least 60 people have been arrested in connection with 31 of the incidents tracked in the report. However, officials cautioned that figure understates the case-closure rate, since it doesn't capture offenders who died before arrest, cases where prosecution was declined, suspects held in another state or country, or incidents involving offender suicide.
Two categories bucked the overall downward trend: Kidnapping and abduction offenses, which include detaining a person against their will, rose 4.6%, and intimidation offenses, which include stalking, rose 8.2%. Women made up 58% of intimidation victims and 79% of kidnapping and abduction victims so far this year; most of the kidnapping offenses were committed by intimate partners, with another 42% committed by someone known to the victim outside their family.
Officials said together the two trends suggest intimate partner violence and stalking-related threats may be rising even as violent crime overall declines.
A separate Major Chiefs Cities Association report found crime broadly down in both Raleigh and Charlotte, though robbery and aggravated assault both rose in Raleigh compared with the same period last year. Charlotte, meanwhile, ranked among the nation's top cities for property crime in 2025 despite a 5% decline from 2024.
Caroline Farmer, executive director of the Governor's Crime Commission, said the data would help guide state resources.
"These insights will help our law enforcement agencies understand where we are seeing success and where emerging needs are developing," Farmer said in a statement. "Strong trend information allows us to respond more effectively, support victims, and ensure resources are committed to the right initiatives."
