New York State Division of State Police Evidence Handbook and Bureau of Criminal Investigation Orders

Franklin Martin Kreml, national expert on traffic safety, accident prevention and law enforcement, was the founding director of the Northwestern University Traffic Institute and a university administrator for over thirty-five years. He also served as head of the Traffic Division of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) from 1936-1955.

This series consists of two employee manuals distributed to members of the New York State Police during the 1940s. The first, entitled The Evidence Handbook for Police, was initially published by Franklin M. Kreml in 1944 and went through several editions. Kreml's goal in producing the publication was to provide a practical guidebook on evidence written especially for police officers, rather than attorneys. The publication includes sections on the rules of evidence; the hearsay rule and exceptions thereto; the best evidence rule; corpus delicti; opinion evidence; real evidence and the principal rules of admissibility; circumstantial evidence; and jurisdiction and venue.

The second is a compilation of Bureau of Criminal Investigation (B.C.I.) orders issued by the Superintendent of State Police between 1936 and 1942. This particular compilation of orders was provided to members of the Bureau of Criminal Investigation of State Police Troop C, based in Sidney, New York. The orders were meant to guide B.C.I. members in the performance of their duties and address issues such as standard firearms to be carried; use of the State Police Scientific Laboratory; establishment of command posts during larger field operations; preservation and safeguarding of evidence; cooperation with local authorities; and investigation of subversive activities.

These records were transferred to the State Archives by the New York State Police in 2007, but were not accessioned until 2016.

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