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 between September 23, 2026 and October 9, 2026.
Orange County, North Carolina, has about 153,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A police report belongs to the agency whose officer wrote it, so which office holds a report from Orange County depends on where the incident happened: the Orange 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: Orange County public records, Orange County arrest records, Orange County warrants, Orange County inmate search, Orange County criminal records, North Carolina arrest records and North Carolina inmate search.
Which Agency Holds a Report from Orange County
A crime, incident or collision report belongs to the agency whose officer wrote it, and that agency releases it, not the court, the jail or the prosecutor.
In Orange County that is the Orange 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 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (campus police) and North Carolina Memorial Hospital (other agency), each with a records office of its own.
The Mebane Police Department and the Durham Police Department are each listed by the FBI across several counties including Orange County, so their arrests are not broken out for Orange County here.
Reports from the Orange County Sheriff's Office
The Orange County Sheriff's Office is the county agency; it had 93 violent and 372 property crimes reported for 2025 and reported 595 arrests for 2025.
Its reports come from its records unit, reached through the office at (919) 245-2900. The office's page SearchSystems verified is its jail page, at ocsonc.com (page title: Orange County Sheriff's Office, NC), phone (919) 245-2900, 106 E. Margaret Lane, Hillsborough, NC 27278, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 9, 2026.
Reports from the City Agencies in Orange County
The three cities the FBI lists in Orange County with a reporting agency of their own, with the police records page SearchSystems verified where the city has a guide:
- Chapel Hill: 57 violent and 1,173 property crimes reported for 2025; 677 arrests reported for 2025.
- Carrboro: 55 violent and 406 property crimes reported for 2025; 262 arrests reported for 2025.
- Hillsborough: 20 violent and 270 property crimes reported for 2025; 197 arrests reported for 2025. The Hillsborough police records page is at hillsboroughnc.gov/Home/Components/ServiceDirectory/ServiceDirector..., phone 919-296-9500 (verified September 26, 2026).
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: Orange County in 2025
The four agencies in Orange County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 225 violent and 2,221 property crimes to the FBI that year, each one a report taken by the agency that holds it.
Together, the four agencies in Orange County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 1,731 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 orangecountync.gov/3843/Online-Public-Records-Request (page title: Online Public Records Request | Orange County, NC).
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get a police report in Orange County?
From the agency whose officer took it: the Orange 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 Orange 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 Orange County Sheriff's Office?
From its records unit, reached through the office at (919) 245-2900. 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 Orange 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.