The City of Carlsbad Police Department reports crime according to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting Program, a nationwide statistical effort of law enforcement agencies reporting data on crime. Crime rates are a calculation of crimes relative to the population. They are expressed as crimes per 1,000 population. The number of FBI index crime per 1,000 population is a standard measure used throughout the law enforcement community.

Annual, semi-annual and regional crime statistics

• San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) publishes semi-annual reports summarizing crime in the San Diego region.
• Area crime mapping tool – The ARJIS crime mapping tool allows users to create a reoccurring crime report for their specific area in Carlsbad. The tool allows the user to input their address, select a radius, choose crime types and get regular reports of crime cases filed under those parameters.