Arrest Books, 1881-1966
Scope and Contents
The New Orleans Police Department's arrest records for the years 1881-1966 were entered into bound volumes. Separate volumes were used by each police precinct/district. All or some of the following data is provided for each arrest recorded in these volumes:
- Name of arrestee
- Residence address
- Race
- Age
- Sex
- Nationality of arrestee and of arrestee's parents
- Occupation
- Marital status
- Read or write?
- Complaint; In some instances only a reference to a section in the Louisiana Revised Statutes or to a New Orleans city ordinance is entered here
- Place of arrest
- Officer(s) making arrest
- Date of arrest
- Disposition; Individual entries may be to a District Attorney's affidavit number, to a simple "dollars/days" sentence, or to a dismissal/refusal of charges
Many entries also include references to releases or paroles of the arrested individuals, including the name of the party who arranged the release or parole. By 1950, each entry also includes a reference to the appropriate "item number" for the offense report associated with the individual arrest. Separate "drunk books" were used to record arrests of inebriated offenders during the years 1951-1966.
Dates
- Creation: 1881-1966
Creator
- From the Collection: New Orleans (La.). Police Department (Organization)
Conditions Governing Access
The microfilm volumes for 1881-1947 are unavailable due to condition issues. The remaining microfilm volumes for 1948-1966 are unavailable to the public due to condition issues, but may be accessed and searched by staff. Email archivist@nolalibrary.org to request a search. Request should include:
- name of arrestee
- date of arrest
- location and time of arrest (if known)
- item number (if known)
Extent
1584 Reels (1584 rolls of microfilm)
Language of Materials
From the Collection: English
Arrangement
Unfortunately, the arrangement of the record books on microfilm is far from perfect. Ideally, the volumes should have been filmed in chronological order by precinct/district. That appears to have been done for the earlier records, but the system broke down at some point and the later films are arranged chaotically at best. There is a microfilmed "index" to the arrest books, however, that is useful in tracking down volumes that cannot be located by searching throught the microfilms themselves. Filed under call number TP100, this is a film of index cards arranged chronologically by precinct/district. Each card indicates the microfilm roll number on which the corresponding volume appears. This film also serves to identify missing volumes.
Call Number
mf TP35
Repository Details
Part of the City Archives Repository
City Archives & Special Collections
219 Loyola Avenue
New Orleans LA 70112
504-596-2610
archivist@nolalibrary.org