Textual records from a recent Police Department accession have been processed and many new collections are available for research!
The largest series is the Subject Files (Record Series 6403-01), which cover a wide variety of subject matter, including DWI enforcement, precinct buildings, traffic management, drill teams, and the annual police ball. Special units and programs represented in the records include the mounted patrol, community service officers, the school safety patrol program, and the city’s pioneering bicycle squad. Administrative files include organizational charts, discussions of new technology, and plans for department reorganizations. The series includes information about the George Jackson Brigade, a radical group that carried out bombings and bank robberies in the 1970s, as well as a series of research request files from the 1970s and 1980s that detail requests for data from outside entities conducting studies on law enforcement topics. Personnel lists and lists of badge and serial numbers may be useful for genealogy.
Several new series originate from the department’s public information division. Administrative records of the unit can be found in Record Series 6404-01 and consist mainly of correspondence with citizens and organizations, along with some internal departmental memos. Press Releases (Record Series 6404-03) were issued to request assistance from the public, announce events, and provide information about programs and initiatives. News Clippings (Record Series 6404-02), mainly from the 1980s and 1990s, are mostly filed by subject and cover local crimes and SPD programs. Call Box (Record Series 6404-04) and SPD Journal (Record Series 6404-05) were internal department newsletters.
The department’s inspectional services division collected documents as part of their research and planning function. The Manuals and Policies collection (Record Series 6406-03) includes manuals for the entire department as well as for specific units, outlining organization, procedures, and workflows. Other manuals address procedures for specific circumstances like extradition or found property. A partial series of departmental policies and procedures is also in this series. General and Special Orders (Record Series 6406-04) mainly address changes to policies and procedures, with some more specific orders for individual units or special events.
Records and Evidence Unit Records (Record Series 6410-03) include departmental policies regarding records access and retention. Snapshots of the criminal code from 1952 and 1974 are included, as well as information about the organization and functions of the unit. Water and Air Operations Records (Record Series 6410-02) cover the acquisition, use, and disposal of helicopters, as well as Lake Union property acquisition and waterway use.
The department’s training function is represented in a small set of records from the Police Academy (Record Series 6408-01) consisting mainly of notebooks kept by students which demonstrate the topics and procedures they were taught in the police training school, as well as a collection of Training Bulletins (Record Series 6408-02). The bulletins cover topics such as crime investigation, traffic enforcement, firearms use, evidence handling, and testifying in court. These bulletins were updated as necessary and sometimes highlighted changes in laws and regulations. The series also includes unit-specific information bulletins for the Patrol Section and Operations Bureau, as well as a series of legal information bulletins highlighting recent court decisions and clarifying points of law. Some miscellaneous information prepared by the Training Division is also part of the collection.