A brand new exhibition opens at the Museum of London today, 9th October, which will run till April next year. The Museum will be showcasing a series of objects from the Crime Museum of the Metropolitan Police which are not usually on view to members of the public. It is working in partnership with the Metropolitan Police Service and the Mayor’s Office for Policing And Crime to put the show on.
The show marks a new way of operating for the museum, which usually assembles its exhibitions from several sources rather than just one collection. This exhibition will take visitors through some of the capital’s most notorious crimes. These range from the more notorious cases of Dr Crippen, the Great Train Robbery and the Kray twins through to those cases which may be less well known but have played a key role in the way London is policed today.
Unlike a certain other new and sensationalist “museum” in the east end, this exhibition will try to recognise the people who investigated the crimes rather than concentrating on the salacious details of the victims or perpetrators. The Museum will try to present something which examines the challenges facing the Metropolitan Police as they try to keep London safe and which also looks at the victims of crime, and how society supports them.
Behind the exhibits are some gruesome and some sad stories, but the curators of this exhibition hope that it will nonetheless showcase an important aspect of London’s history, which we cannot shy away from.
Martin Hewitt, Assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service, explained how the police came to release the artefacts for the exhibition. “For over 140 years we have amassed a fascinating collection of real objects and evidence from the UK’s most notorious criminal investigations,” he said. “Until now these items have had restricted access in the Crime Museum at New Scotland Yard for invited guests and used as a teaching tool for our detectives. It has been our ambition for some time to allow a wider public access to the exhibits within the Crime Museum and we are delighted to work with The Museum of London and MOPAC to produce this exclusive experience. The exhibits provide a unique insight into the development of detective work and the ground-breaking role that the Metropolitan Police Service has played.”
AC Hewitt acknowledges that providing items of this sensitive nature for public display is always going to be a complex procedure. “We have worked very closely with the Museum of London,” he said, “to select over 600 items to ensure that we are sensitive to both the victims and the officers involved, and their families. Under no circumstances did we want the museum to glamorise crime, or the criminals involved. The fact that this collection represents the most iconic of criminal cases in London makes it fascinating for the public both here and abroad.”
Stephen Greenhalgh, Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime at MOPAC, also welcomed the exhibition. “The Crime Museum Uncovered exhibition offers an incredible insight into how London’s police force has dealt with the changing demands of serving an expanding and evolving city,” he said. “By telling the stories of not only the criminals, but also the police officers who investigated these crimes, this exhibition shows just how painstaking and time-consuming good police work can be, where the smallest of details are critical to a detective solving a crime. It is a fascinating opportunity to learn about some of the things our police officers do to fight crime and keep the public safe. At the heart of the exhibition are the victims’ stories, which are all too often forgotten. They are a compelling reminder of the impact crime can have on people’s lives and how important police work is in detecting and bringing criminals to justice.”
Deputy Mayor Greenhalgh is Deputy Mayor to Boris Johnson, who is part of the Government that is currently slashing funding to all police services in the country, including the Metropolitan Police. The cuts are so severe that several forces fear that they may not be able to keep up the high standards previously established and which are showcased in this exhibition.
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