Ralph G. Murdy collection on Baltimore criminal justice

Collection

Identifier: MS-0374

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The collection consists of 25 bound volumes, two notebooks, 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. There are no original items in the collection, only 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).

Dates

1878-1972
Majority of material found within 1960-1972

Creator

Murdy, Ralph G. (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is housed off-site and requires 48-hours' notice for retrieval. Please contact Special Collections for more information.

Collection is open for use.

Conditions Governing Use

Single copies may be made for research purposes. Researchers are responsible for determining any copyright questions. It is not necessary to seek our permission as the owner of the physical work to publish or otherwise use public domain materials that we have made available for use, unless Johns Hopkins University holds the copyright.

Biographical Note

Ralph G. Murdy was trained as an accountant at Fordham University and later studied education, psychology, and criminology at Loyola College and The Johns Hopkins University. He joined the Federal Bureau of Investigation in January 1951 and was assigned to the Baltimore FBI office in December 1951. Murdy resigned from the FBI in 1959 to assume an executive position with the Baltimore Criminal Justice Commission. During the 1970s, Murdy was a deputy police commissioner with the Baltimore City Police Department.

Ralph G. Murdy resided in Timonium, MD. He died in 1995.

Extent

3.26 Cubic Feet (2 record center cartons, 2 letter size document boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Ralph G. Murdy was a deputy police commissioner with the Baltimore City Police Department in the 1970s. The collection consists of pamphlets, 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.

Provenance

The collection was a gift to the University from Ralph G. Murdy in 1994.

Related Materials

Related materials (logbooks, criminal records) are held by the Baltimore City Police Department. Dockets from the Baltimore City Police Department can be found at the Maryland State Archives.