Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest and crime counts are the ones each agency reported to the FBI, as the FBI held them on October 8, 2026. Every office link was opened and checked against the office's own site on September 23, 2026.
Dare County, North Carolina, has about 38,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A police report belongs to the agency whose officer wrote it, so which office holds a report from Dare County depends on where the incident happened: the Dare County Sheriff's Office for the unincorporated county, the agency that reports for the city inside a city. This guide names each agency, where its records page is and what the North Carolina Public Records Act requires of it.
This guide covers which agency, the sheriff's reports, the cities' reports, how many reports, what the law requires and common questions.
Related guides: Dare County public records, Dare County arrest records, Dare County warrants, Dare County inmate search, Dare County criminal records, North Carolina arrest records and North Carolina inmate search.
Which Agency Holds a Report from Dare County
The report of an incident is released by the agency that took it; the court and the jail hold their own records of the same event, but not the report.
In Dare County that is the Dare County Sheriff's Office for the unincorporated county and for any city that contracts with it for police service, and the agency that reports for a city where the city has one of its own.
The FBI's list also carries the State Park Rangers at Jockey's Ridge (state agency), with a records office of its own.
Reports from the Dare County Sheriff's Office
The Dare County Sheriff's Office is the county agency; it had 33 violent and 148 property crimes reported for 2025 and reported 462 arrests for 2025.
Its reports come from its records unit, reached through the office at 252.475.5980. The office's page SearchSystems verified is its jail page, at darenc.gov/departments/sheriff-s-office (page title: Dare County Sheriff's Office | Dare County, NC), phone 252.475.5980, 962 Marshall C. Collins Drive P.O. Box 757 Manteo, NC 27954, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
Reports from the City Agencies in Dare County
The six cities the FBI lists in Dare County with a reporting agency of their own:
- Kill Devil Hills: 195 arrests reported for 2024.
- Kitty Hawk: 3 violent and 78 property crimes reported for 2025; 89 arrests reported for 2025.
- Southern Shores: 0 violent and 26 property crimes reported for 2025; 91 arrests reported for 2025.
- Nags Head: 6 violent and 76 property crimes reported for 2025; 184 arrests reported for 2025.
- Manteo: 67 arrests reported for 2024.
- Duck: 1 violent and 19 property crimes reported for 2025; 10 arrests reported for 2025.
A city on that list is reported separately whether the officers are the city's own or the sheriff's under contract; the FBI's list does not say which.
How Many Reports: Dare County in 2025
The five agencies in Dare County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 43 violent and 347 property crimes to the FBI that year, each one a report taken by the agency that holds it.
Together, the five agencies in Dare County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 836 arrests to the FBI that year, and each arrest is a report of its own.
What the North Carolina Public Records Act Requires
The North Carolina Public Records Act sets the rules: an answer as promptly as possible; the statute sets no number of days, at a charge of the actual cost of copying, from the agency that holds the report.
Any other county record goes through the county records request page SearchSystems verified, at darenc.gov/departments/public-relations/public-records-requests (page title: Public Records Requests | Dare County, NC).
A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the District Attorney handles discovery for pending cases.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get a police report in Dare County?
From the agency whose officer took it: the Dare County Sheriff's Office for its own arrests, or the agency that reports for the city where it happened. Under the North Carolina Public Records Act the answer is due as promptly as possible; the statute sets no number of days.
How long does an agency in Dare County have to answer?
Under the North Carolina Public Records Act, as promptly as possible; the statute sets no number of days. It may charge the actual cost of copying.
How do I get a report from the Dare County Sheriff's Office?
From its records unit, reached through the office at 252.475.5980. Under the North Carolina Public Records Act the answer is due as promptly as possible; the statute sets no number of days.
Is this the official Dare County website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.