Guide to the Board of Police Commissioners Minutes 1890-1896

Overview of the Collection

	Repository Name:		Seattle Municipal Archives PO Box 94728 600 Fourth Avenue, Floor 3 Seattle, WA 98124-4728 Phone: 206/233-7807 Email: archives@seattle.gov http://www.seattle.gov/cityarchives
	Collection Number:		6400-01
	Creator:		Seattle (Wash.). Board of Police Commissioners
	Title:		Minutes
	Dates:		1890-1896 (inclusive)
	Quantity:		1 volume
	Languages:		Collection materials are in English.
	Summary:		Proceedings of Board of Police Commissioners meetings, 1890-1896.

Historical Note

The City Charter of 1890 created the Board of Police Commissioners, which administered the Police Department. The Board consisted of the mayor and four police commissioners appointed by the mayor; police commissioners served four-year terms. The Board was responsible for appointing (and, when necessary, removing) the Chief of Police and all subordinate officers, as well as making regulations for the governance of the Department and deciding penalties for violation of rules.

Following allegations of corruption, the Commission was abolished by the new Charter of 1896. The Chief of Police, appointed by the mayor, served as administrator of the Department.

Content Description

Minutes of the Board of Police Commissioners, 1890-1896, report proceedings of Board meetings. Included are resolutions and policy decisions made by the Board and actions taken in dealing with Police Department employees (including applications for and appointments to positions on the police force, as well as resignations, disciplinary actions, and reinstatements). Also included are reports on investigations of charges or grievances against officers. An alphabetical index at the front of the volume lists the names of persons mentioned in the minutes as well as topics of interest.

Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Access

Records are open to the public.

Preferred Citation

[Item and date], Board of Police Commissioners Minutes, Record Series 6400-01. Seattle Municipal Archives.

Subjects

This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Seattle (Wash.). Board of Police Commissioners

Seattle (Wash.). Police Dept.

Seattle (Wash.)--Politics and government

Police--Dismissal of--Washington (State)--Seattle

Police--Selection and appointment--Washington (State)--Seattle

Police--Supervision of--Washington (State)--Seattle

Police--Washington (State)--Seattle

Minutes

Detailed Description of the Collection

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.

volume
1

Board of Police Commissioners Minutes

Overview of the Collection

Repository Name:

Collection Number:

Creator:

Title:

Dates:

Quantity:

Languages:

Summary:

Historical Note

Content Description

Use of the Collection

Subjects

Detailed Description of the Collection