Visit City of London Police Museum

The City of London Police has been responsible for policing the Square Mile since 1839. Over the course of more than 175 years, the force’s priority has remained the same: keeping the City safe. Today the force is the UK's leading police force for fraud and economic crime.

The City of London Police Museum tells the story of the City of London Police and some of the major events that the police have dealt with.

Explore the museum online

Listen to the new museum audio-guide from the comfort of your own home.

Discover the stories behind two suffragette bombs from the collection of the City of London Police Museum. Read the story on Google Arts & Culture.

Learning Resources for Families and Teachers

Download free PDF learning resources from the City of London Police Museum, designed for use by families at home or by teachers at school. They are aimed at Key Stage 2 children, aged 7-11.

Events and Tours at the Museum

Guided Tours
Free guided tours will take place on the first Friday of each month when the museum reopens.

If you would like to book a group visit, please email the Police Museum for details and pricing.

Saturday Opening
The City of London Police Museum will be open on alternate Saturdays when it reopens.

Family Fun
When the museum reopens, details of family activity days will be added here. In the meantime, why not try some of the family activities featured above? 

Talks
Talks for adults are hosted in conjunction with the Guildhall Library and will be listed here when the museum reopens.

School Groups
After reopening, the following workshops will be available for visiting educational groups. Please enquire for pricing.

Key Stage 1/EYFS/SEN: People who help us (1 hr)
Pupils will find out what the police do, see what the police look like, find out about the animals who help the police, learn how you can ask the police for help and try on some police hats!

Key Stage 2: Heroes and villains (1.5 hrs)
Students will explore the role of the police and the people and animals who help them and investigate vicious villains - and some not so vicious - using handling objects and a guided tour of the museum.

Key Stage 3: Policing from AD 1100 (1.5 hrs)
This workshop explores crime and policing from 1000 to the present. Students will handle museum objects and get a guided tour of the museum to explore how policing has changed over the centuries.

Key Stage 4: The Whitechapel and City Murders (1.5 hrs)
Tied in to the Edexcel GCSE topic, students use primary sources and secondary source information in the museum to build up a picture of the murder of Catherine Eddowes by Jack the Ripper in 1888 and how the police investigated the crime.

Key Stage 5: Review a criminal case (2 hrs)
Tied in to the WJEC Criminology Diploma Unit 3, students will use original police case files and exhibits in the museum to investigate the Houndsditch Murders of 1910. Can they build up a picture of how the case was investigated and why no-one was convicted of the crimes.

The Culture Mile School Visits Fund is available to London schools with at least 35% of pupils in receipt of Pupil Premium and to non-school educational organisations that work with school-age children (special schools do not need to meet the Pupil Premium requirement). Funding is available for visits taking place before the end of March 2020 and can be used towards any reasonable costs that are necessary to enable the visit to take place, e.g. admission or session fees, transport or staff cover.

To find out more please email the Police Museum team. If you do not have access to a computer please get in touch at 020 7322 1100 for more information.

About the City of London Police

The City of London Police has been responsible for policing the Square Mile since 1839.

The City of London, the financial centre of the UK, may only be 'One Square Mile' but it has its own police force, separate from the Metropolitan Police.

As well as safeguarding the Square Mile and its 9,000 residents, 320,000 workers and the many visitors that come each year to see landmarks such as St Paul's Cathedral and Tower Bridge, The City Police specialises in economic crime.

See also

The City of London Police Museum is part of Guildhall Galleries - a collection of eight attractions at Guildhall.