New York State War Council Office of Civilian Protection Volunteers Fingerprint Identification Correspondence Files

Alphabetical by county, then by municipality, with general correspondence following.

Because civil defense was considered a national security issue, civil defense volunteers were required to be fingerprinted. This allowed the Office of Civilian Protection to screen for criminals and would allow for identification in case of catastrophe. The actual work of identifying the fingerprints was conducted by the New York State Department of Correction's Division of Identification.

This series contains correspondence, monthly reports, and memoranda concerning the procedures and operation of the fingerprint identification program. Most of the correspondence consists of routine transmittal letters from local war councils to the Division of Identification requesting fingerprint identification or forms. The series also includes correspondence between the division and both the State War Council and the local war councils detailing the procedures, personnel, and finances involved in the division's operation. Also found are monthly reports listing the total number of prints received and from what organizations, including local war councils and military bases in and out of state.

Monthly fingerprint identifications were tallied up on the back of four pages from the Department of Correction's Westfield State Farm discharge log. The front of these pages list the names, dates of arrival and discharge, and reasons for discharge from the Westfield institution.

This series was originally accessioned as box 186 of old collection #77, accession -71.

There are no restrictions regarding access to or use of the material.