The number of reported crimes in Fayetteville rose slightly in the first half of 2026, while some violent crimes—homicide, rape, and aggravated assault—declined, according to the Fayetteville Police Department.
Crime increased 1.45%—or 100 incidents—during the first six months of 2026 compared to the same period in 2025, rising from 6,898 in 2025 to 6,998 in 2026. Total arrests climbed by 3.56%, or 120 incidents, to 3,488 in 2026 compared to 3,368 in 2025. The numbers came from a police department presentation to the City Council on Monday, as well as additional information the agency provided to CityView.
Chief Roberto Bryan, in his presentation to the City Council, pointed to a drop in three categories of violent crime—homicides (down 46.15%), rapes (down 29.62%), and aggravated assaults (down 3.40%). In the first six months of the year, the city reported 14 homicides, 19 rapes, and 312 aggravated assaults.
But other violent offenses moved in the opposite direction. Crimes categorized under “All Other Persons”—which include simple assaults, kidnapping, intimidation, and human trafficking—increased 18.86%, a trend Bryan described as the department’s “Achilles’ heel.”
Overall, violent crimes against persons rose 12.54%, from 1,564 to 1,740 incidents.
“We attribute this increase largely to a rise in simple assaults and communication of threats (intimidation),” police spokesperson Hannah Sloan told CityView. “In both of these categories, the overwhelming majority of the victims knew the suspect/offender prior to the crime occurring.”
Bryan told council members the national average clearance rate for homicides is about 61%, but said investigators are outperforming that benchmark.
“The Fayetteville Police Department has 100% clearance,” he said. “We’re doing a phenomenal job in terms of solving these crimes.”
A clearance rate reflects how many crimes police consider solved under FBI rules, either because someone was arrested and charged, or because investigators identified a suspect but couldn’t prosecute due to circumstances outside their control.
Overall, domestic assault cases dropped 3.52%, from 85 incidents to 82. Misdemeanor domestic violence cases rose 13.51%, from 37 incidents to 42, while felony domestic violence crimes fell 16.66%, from 48 incidents to 40. Bryan credited the decline in felony cases to expanded victim follow‑up and a partnership with the Phoenix Center, a local organization that offers supporting services to victims of sexual and domestic assault.
“We’re partnering with the Phoenix Center to provide a wraparound service,” he said. “We also have our officers and detectives that do follow‑up to ensure that those victims will not be repeat in terms of being a victimization.”
Motor vehicle thefts dropped 23.62%, from 343 incidents to 262, which Bryan attributed to a targeted task force created after officers noticed a rising trend.
“That particular task force really made an impact in our numbers,” he said.
Robberies fell 21.43%, from 98 to 77 incidents, a change Bryan credited to the rapid response of the crimes against persons unit.
“As soon as they get there, they’ll start investigating that particular case, and many times they’re able to get and arrest those suspects,” Bryan said, adding that robberies often involve the same one or two people committing multiple offenses.
Overall, according to the police department, property crime dropped 1.25%, from 4,312 incidents to 4.258. That category includes burglary (down 2.49%), larceny (up 2.12%), motor vehicle theft (down 23.62%), robbery (down 21.43%), and “all other property crimes” (up 2.57%).
The agency also reported a slight decrease in what law enforcement calls crimes against society, such as drugs and weapons violations, gambling, prostitution, and animal cruelty. In 2026, there were 1,011 incidents compared to 1,047 in 2025, or a 3.44% decrease.
Juvenile Crime: More Encounters, Fewer Serious Offenses
The department recorded a 43.54% increase in juvenile field contacts—from 209 to 300. Field contacts are any interaction an officer has with a juvenile under 17 and are not related to criminal activity, according to Sgt. Alpha Caldwell.
Bryan told City Council those encounters coincided with more incidents involving juveniles, including a 105.26% rise in weapons cases—from 19 to 39—and a 69.56% increase in drug‑related incidents, from 23 to 39. Each incident reflects at least one juvenile suspect or offender, though some involve multiple juveniles.
He also said the increased contact with juveniles contributed to a 51.56% decrease in motor vehicle thefts involving juveniles, from 64 to 31 incidents, and a 31.76% drop in breaking and entering cases, from 85 to 58 incidents.
“These are how we are encountering and making an impact in terms of crimes with juveniles,” Bryan said.
Total juvenile incident charges fell 2.64%, from 946 to 921. Of those, 152 involved runaways—a category that does not necessarily indicate criminal activity.
Major Shawn Strepay told CityView that under North Carolina law, juveniles who run away for more than 24 hours may be adjudicated as “undisciplined.”
An “undisciplined juvenile,” Strepay said, is a child between 6 and 17 who isn’t accused of a crime but has run away from home for more than 24 hours—behavior that triggers court involvement even though it isn’t criminal.
“Instead of facing criminal charges, an ‘undisciplined juvenile’ petition may be filed to bring the juvenile before a juvenile court,” he said.
In those cases, a parent or guardian must go before a magistrate or juvenile court counselor to request an undisciplined juvenile petition, which is what formally allows the court to step in and connect the family with supervision and resources.
Juvenile incident reports increased 1%, from 652 to 657.
“An incident report itself does not necessarily equate to a crime occurring,” Strepay said. “Officers complete incident reports to document things which are not a crime, but may require documentation or a referral for resources.”
Bryan also discussed another aspect of juvenile oversight: the city’s newly reinstated youth curfew.
In June, the city council voted to reinstate the youth curfew, reviving a controversial ordinance that expired in late May and has divided residents, council members, and youth advocates. It took effect June 22 and prohibits anyone 16 or younger from being in public between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m., with exceptions for work, emergencies, travel, and supervised school, religious, or recreational activities.
Within the past six months, Bryan said, officers made 55 contacts during curfew hours:
- 38 involved youth 16 or younger
- 10 involved 17‑year‑olds
- 7 involved adults
The ordinance does not penalize juveniles; instead, it holds parents, business owners, and anyone 17 or older who aids violations legally responsible. Violations by any person 17 or older are Class 3 misdemeanors with fines up to $500.
Twenty-two of the encounters resulted in criminal charges, Bryan said.
He emphasized that officers do not stop people based on appearance alone.
“We’re always utilizing either reasonable suspicion or probable cause,” he said. “We can’t really tell what their age is until we actually have some type of reason to engage.”
Traffic Stop Data: Stops of Black Drivers Increases
Overall, unique traffic stops rose 8.33% in the first half of 2026, increasing from 26,351 to 28,546, according to the presentation. Black drivers were stopped 17,734 times—62.12% of all stops—though Black residents make up 41.5% of Fayetteville’s population, according to 2024 census data. White residents account for 34.2% of the population, and the 9,547 stops involving white drivers represented 33.54% of all stops.
The department’s numbers show that stops involving Black drivers increased 9.13% from 16,250 in 2025 to 17,734 in 2026, while the percentage of Black drivers searched during those stops fell slightly, from 3.58% (583) to 3.01% (534).
Drug and weapon seizures involving Black drivers also declined, from 348 to 322 incidents in which drugs were found and 142 to 116 incidents in which weapons were found.
Stops involving white drivers rose as well, up 6.7% from 8,947 to 9,547, with searches dropping from 1.67% to 1.31%. Drug seizures involving white drivers fell from 80 to 55, while weapons seized remained the same at 19.
Councilmember Shaun McMillan raised concerns about the General Assembly’s recent repeal of North Carolina’s long‑standing requirement for law enforcement agencies to collect and publish traffic‑stop data, including race. That requirement ended July 1.
The repeal—tucked into page 448 of the state’s 634‑page budget—ended a system that had allowed the public to examine racial disparities in policing since 2000.
State Sen. Phil Berger, the Republican leader in the Senate, told The News & Observer that law enforcement officials had asked for the reporting requirement to be removed, saying they weren’t using the data. But a spokesperson for Gov. Josh Stein offered a different view, arguing that eliminating the requirement undermines the trust officers have worked to build in their communities, according to the outlet.
“That really forced departments across North Carolina to track incidents by race, to be able to look at disparities, especially in policing and traffic stops, as you know, in Fayetteville, it’s it’s caused us to see that there are some disparities when we’ve dealt with driving while black as as a as a result,” McMillan said.
He asked Byran whether the department will continue to track the data.
Bryan said he was “surprised” by the repeal and that his department plans to continue collecting the data.
“After discussing with my staff, we had an overwhelming agreement for us as a department,” he said.”It’s going to continue to be in our policy, so that we have that transparency for the community and maintain that trust.”
Staffing Improves, Recruiting Expands
As of August, the department has 32 police officer vacancies, meaning its rank of certified officers is staffed at 92.47%, or 393 of 425 budgeted positions. That’s down from 64 vacancies at the same time last year, Bryan told the council. An additional 31 officer positions are frozen, according to the department’s presentation.
Bryan said 17 to 18 recruits are in the application process and projected that all vacancies will be filled by January, prompting applause from council members.
He noted that the police department is attracting lateral hires, or police officers who already have years of experience.
“We’re also doing some innovative recruiting,” he said. “We’re attracting officers from New York, Kentucky. I mean, we have a really wide scope in terms of what we’re attracting, and we’re bringing them here.”
Bryan also said they have had success in rehiring police officers who left to pursue other careers and are now coming back on the force.
Overall, the police department is budgeted for 700 positions, which includes officers, staff, and 911 staff—with 53 of those jobs unfilled. The agency’s overall staffing rate is 92.43%.
Government reporter Rachel Heimann Mercader can be reached at rheimann@cityviewnc.com or 910-988-8045.
