The Department of Crime Control and Public Safety serves as North Carolina's Office of Homeland Security and is the state's lead agency for response to natural disasters and criminal activity.

The Department was created in 1977 to strengthen the state's public safety efforts by concentrating the responsible agencies into one department. The mission of CCPS is to continuously improve the quality of life of North Carolinians by reducing crime and enhancing public safety.

The Secretary of Crime Control and Public Safety serves as the sole representative on the Governor's Cabinet for the state's law enforcement and emergency response community.

CCPS has nine divisions and approximately 3,000 fulltime employees, of which roughly 2,000 are sworn law enforcement officers. Another 11,000 members of the National Guard are available for state active duty to support the U.S. military and respond to natural disasters as necessary.

N.C. has been struck by more than a dozen hurricanes and tropical storms in the last 10 years, and numerous winter storms including the state's heaviest snowfall of the 20th century in January 2000.

CCPS is constantly updating plans and doing training for local officials to respond to other emergencies such as terrorism, foot and mouth disease, nuclear power plant incidents and civil unrest.

The department focuses citizen and legislative attention on law enforcement and public safety issues such as drinking and driving, underage access to alcohol and tobacco, the proper use of child safety seats, crime prevention, and preparation for natural disasters.