The records (1871-1977) include journals and logs, reports, and miscellaneous files. The journals and logs include an account book, payroll books, a criminal docket book, daily logs of activities, and an ambulance log book. The account book (1929-1941) contains a monthly summary of bills paid. Information available includes payee and amount paid but not what was paid for. The ambulance log book (1926-1946) records the name of the person transported, the pick-up location, their destination, the names of the doctor and ambulance driver, and a brief description of the call.

The criminal docket gives an account of the disposition of cases which came before the police judge, mostly traffic law violations and drunk and disorderly arrests. No felony cases are included.

The daily logs (1898-1954) contain day-by-day brief accounts of arrests and other events. Lodgers are registers of transients ( ) sheltered for a night and then turned out in the moring. The payroll books (1947-1952) list each employee and the days they worked.

The police register of arrests (1913-1918; 1931-1935; 1942-1947) includes a brief description of the person arrested, what they were carrying or had on them at the time of the arrest and a brief disposition of the case. The street lighting record is from the time when the police were responsible for lighting the gas street lights. Lastly, a traffic violation register (1936-1945) lists the violator alphabetically by the first initial of there last name; therein, chronologically as the traffic violations occurred.

The reports (1954-1977) were prepared by persons employed both inside and outside of the department. Reports produced internally deal with enforcement of traffic laws and generally date from the 1960s. The remainder of the reports are studies done by outside consultants on departmental operations during the 1970s.

The remaining records include mugshots of persons arrested and/or wanted for various crimes. The mugshots are arranged alphabetically by last name and generally date from the 1920s. Information available with each photo consists of suspect’s name, known aliases, physical description, and crimes committed. Another folder includes information about Milton L. Beck, a local man killed in a railway accident in Iowa in 1917.