The collection consists of 25 bound volumes, two notebooks, four personal diaries, and two pamphlets containing documents, committee minutes, correspondence, reports, and notes mostly related to the process of criminal justice in the city of Baltimore dating from 1878-1972, with the bulk of the material dating from 1960-1972. The collection primarily consists of photocopies, typescript carbons, and published information. The material forms a history of law enforcement and organization in the Maryland area and was collected by Ralph G. Murdy whose career in police work included service as a former deputy police commissioner in Baltimore. The bulk of Murdy's collection dates from 1960-1972 and includes juvenile reports, reports of the personnel service board, minutes of the police commissioner's conferences, and several volumes describing the formation and management of the police officers' union in Baltimore. Murdy also served as Managing Director and Secretary of the Baltimore Criminal Justice Commission, an agency incorporated in 1922 to act as a representative of the public in dealing with matters of criminal law enforcement. The collection includes copies of the Commission's reports (1959-1965) and minutes (1923-1963).Of interest are two volumes entitled "Capital Casenotes" that form a bibliography of capital crimes and executions in the state of Maryland beginning in the eighteenth century. Criminal cases have been abstracted from newspaper reports and are fully referenced. Other items in the collection include reports from the Chicago Crime Commission (1959-1963) and copies of a FBI journal, The Investigator (1952-1961). Ralph Murdy's personal diary books date from 1951 to 1966 and contain a handwritten record of meetings and other daily work activities.