Benedict Solomon Alper papers primarily document his Boston College scholarship and teaching on the topics of juvenile deliquency and the United States penal system. To a lesser extent the papers cover the experience of his family during World War II and his own as a staff member during the early years of the United Nations.

Academic work in criminology includes Alper's drafts of papers and conference talks, lecture notes, and Boston College correspondence. His writing focuses on corrections for juvenile offenders and the roles of age, race, and social class within the criminal justice system, as well as the economics of spending on corrections rather than public health and human services initiatives.

Alper's photographs of Europe and North Africa along with letters from his wife chronicle the family's experience of World War II during his enlistment. A small number of Army personnel forms included with his personal correspondence show his enrollment, promotion, and discharge from the U.S. Army at the end of the war.

Professional correspondence from the United Nations Criminal Justice and Crime Prevention Unit and materials from the United National Administrative Tribunal, Joint Appeals Board, and Staff Association combine to document Alper's work immediately following his military service and the controversy surrounding a wave of contract terminations, including his own, in 1950-1951.