Vancouver Police Museum
The museum is run by the Vancouver Police Historical Society, a non-profit organization established in 1983 with the mandate to foster interest in the history of the Vancouver Police Department and to open a museum for this purpose. The catalyst for the project was the museum's first curator, Joe Swan, a former police sergeant and amateur historian. Swan wrote the department's official history book, which was published by the Vancouver Historical Society in 1986, entitled, A Century of Service: The Vancouver Police, 1886-1986.
The museum is located on the top floor of the city-owned Coroner's Court building and permanent exhibits include the original morgue and autopsy suite. The museum maintains a collection of approximately 30,000 objects. This includes archival documents, photographs, publications, confiscated firearms and other weapons, counterfeit currency, and various other artifacts and memorabilia, of which an estimated 40% is on display. The museum offers educational programs for children and youth that are focused on forensic investigation. The museum has a small book shop featuring a curated collection of books written by local authors and publishes a quarterly newsletter.
The museum is self-funded through admission and program fees, membership fees, donations, book shop sales, and project grants; the museum receives no direct funding from the Vancouver Police Department or the City of Vancouver but gratefully receives their in-kind support.
