Content Description

The annual reports of the Seattle Police Department date from 1894 to 2000; annual reports will continue to be added to the series. Reports include information on arrest statistics, jail conditions, crime rates, and traffic statistics; photographs are included in some reports. Police Pension reports, Police Court reports, Police Telephone and Telegraph System reports, and Woman's Protective Division reports are included.

Some early reports include recommendations by the Board of Police Commissioners as well as the report by the Chief of Police. Reports consist of a variety of statistics including cause of arrests and the occupations, nativity, and age of persons arrested. Suggestions for improvements are also included in reports. The 1900 report notes the condition of the jail: “bad sewerage, mould, rot, dampness, poor ventilation, coupled with the fact that from its inception it was never intended as a receiving jail, makes it totally unfit for occupancy.” Police Court reports, where they exist, are included in this series as well. Police Telephone and Telegraph System reports are included with some Police annual reports. Reports on the Woman’s Protective Division are included in this series; in some years, they are part of the Police Department report, and in other years, they are separate reports. The 1904 report of the Humane Officer is also included in this series.

By 1945 the reports include geographical statistics on crime rates and traffic division statistics by precinct; in 1955 the reports begin to include this information by census tract. The 1947 report is quite lengthy and includes descriptions of departmental activities for the year, plans, and comparative statistics for Seattle and other cities. It also includes photographs, as do subsequent reports. The 1948 report includes a description of the Rehabilitation Camp, later called the Police Department Rehabilitation Project, which started operating that year. The camp was intended to offer “men suffering from chronic alcoholism or periodic heavy drinkers to build themselves up physically and to better prepare them to accept a useful position in society" (p. 16a). Capacity was increased from 50 in 1948 to 100 in 1953. The project ended in 1961 for budget reasons.

From the mid-1950s to 1970, reports consist almost entirely of statistics and there is very little narrative. For the 1970s, there are two reports. One is almost entirely narrative, focusing on public relations and containing very few statistics. The second is a statistical report with no narrative. Both reports do not exist in this series for every year. Beginning in 1980, both the narrative and statistical reports are included in one.

Police Pension reports for 1964 to 1965 are included at the end of this series.