As you might guess from the name, the Vancouver Police Museum has a uniquely specific focus. The facility, in the heart of the city's downtown East Side, has collected over 20,000 artifacts related to the history of local law enforcement and forensic analysis, as well as fascinating exhibits designed to appeal to both casual tourists and diehard historians — everything from historical photos to period uniforms to massive displays of firearms and confiscated weapons to an actual morgue.
“We're looking at the history of Vancouver from a pretty unique perspective,” notes curator Kristin Hardie, ”and we're the oldest in North America. The New York Police Museum called to tell us that. We didn't even know.” She laughs. “They were putting together an Association of Police Museums, and they'd done a bunch of research, and discovered that we were the oldest, which is something to be proud of.”
