Discovering history at the West Midlands Police Museum

National World - LocalTV

Join us as we explore the West Midlands Police Museum, housed in Birmingham's historic Steelhouse Lane Lock-Up. Discover interactive exhibits, original cells, and artifacts that chronicle over 200 years of policing history. Learn how this budget-friendly attraction offers valuable insights into the region's law enforcement past.

Transcript

00:00Standing outside the imposing red brick facade of the former Steelhouse line lock-up, now

00:05the West Midlands Police Museum, you can almost feel the weight of its history. This building

00:11once held some of Birmingham's most notorious criminals, including members of the Real Peaky

00:16Blinders gang. Stepping inside, you're immediately transported to a time when law and order were

00:22carried out with very different methods. The cells remain largely unchanged, giving visitors

00:28a stark sense of what it was like to be locked up here. Alongside the original features,

00:34exhibits showcase how policing has evolved from handwritten records to modern crime-fighting

00:39techniques. It's a hands-on experience that brings the past to life.

00:45So the West Midlands Police Museum spans 200 years worth of policing history across the

00:49West Midlands, from how police forces were created to some of the pioneers, the people

00:55whose stories we all should hear about and be inspired by. It also covers more recent

01:00developments and things about police officers today. And I think it's a really, really important

01:04part of how we build bridges with communities, how young people can learn that police officers

01:09are just real people and might be inspired to join policing and become officers themselves.

01:14So there's so many wonderful stories that we love to share with people to educate, engage

01:20and inspire them. To see a modern day police museum that has been developed, supported

01:26by lottery funding, we've been able to produce state-of-the-art displays and it is a huge

01:30building. People do not expect this massive cavern of three floors of cells with displays,

01:37interactives, things to try on, things to engage with. So I think the size and scale

01:42of it really surprises people. Among the museum's vast collection, some

01:47stories stand out. Original mugshots of the early 20th century criminals, case files

01:52from notorious local crimes and even weapons confiscated over the years, paint a vivid

01:58picture of Birmingham's policing past. The Peaky Blinders exhibit offers a glimpse into

02:04the real gang behind the legend, separating fact from fiction. Engaging with these artefacts

02:09offers visitors a unique perspective on crime and punishment in the region, showing just

02:15how much policing has changed and how much has stayed the same.

02:20I love the fact that this building links back to the history of women in policing in the

02:24West Midlands. So the Steelhouse Lane lock-up was where our first lock-up matrons were recruited

02:30who were arguably the pioneers, the forerunners of police women today. Two of those lock-up

02:36matrons became our first two female officers in 1917. So the fact that you can walk the

02:41same landings that those women, those inspirational women walked over 100 years ago is really

02:47quite inspiring. So learning about those women and our first black and Asian officers and

02:52people who were the first to do loads of different things, I think is really, really quite inspiring

02:56and one of my favourite things that we do.

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