Disorderly conduct

Disorderly conduct is an offense category for specified conduct that unlawfully disrupts public peace or order. Its legal elements depend on the jurisdiction. The label in a police table describes an agency's classification; it is not a general finding that anyone who was loud, unpopular, or involved in an argument committed a crime.

Reading a broad category

NCSBI publishes a broad NIBRS definition associated with disturbance of public peace. It also explicitly explains that NIBRS definitions organize statistics rather than define charges. Local statutes, the recorded facts, and constitutional limits matter when determining whether conduct is unlawful. NCSBI definitions

This distinction is especially useful because dispatch labels often describe the request before an investigation. A “disturbance” call can end with advice, separation of the parties, referral, another offense classification, or no offense recorded. The initial reason for sending an officer and the final crime classification should not be substituted for one another.

Under the FBI's 2025.0 NIBRS framework, disorderly conduct falls within Group B reporting. Group B submissions describe arrests rather than the full incident details collected for Group A crimes. Consequently, a national arrest table and a local disturbance-call table have different counting bases. FBI NIBRS manual

Example

Hypothetical example: Neighbors request police assistance with a loud dispute outside an apartment building. Dispatch records a disturbance. Officers speak with the people involved and document no criminal offense. Another event later results in an arrest entered under the local disorderly-conduct statute.

The first event belongs in a qualifying disturbance-call total, but it should not be relabeled a disorderly-conduct arrest. The second supports an arrest classification, subject to the record's status. Neither entry alone establishes a court's eventual determination.

Common confusion

A noise complaint, domestic disturbance, and disorderly-conduct offense are different categories. The first two can be service requests; the last denotes alleged unlawful conduct under a particular classification. Similar everyday descriptions do not create interchangeable statistics.

Disorderly conduct is also not a medical diagnosis or a description of a person's character. Reporting should identify the record and conduct category without using the label to make broader personal judgments.

Comparing data

Check whether the source reports calls, citations, arrests, or convictions and whether the definition changed during the comparison period. Local enforcement practices and legal differences can affect recorded totals. An increase in disorderly-conduct arrests alone does not establish that all public disturbances increased, nor does a lower count prove that fewer residents experienced disruptive behavior.

Related terms

• Disturbance
• Noise complaint
• Group B offense
• Charge

Sources

• NCSBI offense definitions — disorderly-conduct category and statutory distinction.
• FBI NIBRS manual, version 2025.0 — Group B reporting structure.