Newport News (Va.) Unidentified Police Notebook, 1917-1918, contains daily notes written by an unknown policeman in the course of his duty. The officer recorded by date and by time of occurrence such things as telephone calls received; crimes reported along with details such as the reporter's name, witness names, address of the crime and other details; descriptions of fugitives or lost children for whom to be on the lookout; results of searches performed for a person of interest to the police; automobile accidents; whether other policemen reported for duty that day and reasons why they did not; and other citizen complaints about street blockages, gutter and pipe malfunctions, and in one instance, a stray mule. In many cases there are also notes about the resolution of the investigation or problem.

The last three pages of the volume contain lists of names from 1918 along with cities or other locations in the United States and what color the person is. The purpose of this list is unknown.