The Museum of Policing in Devon and Cornwall (MOPIDAC) is a registered charity that collects, preserves and celebrates the history of policing in

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

and

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

. The museum possesses a comprehensive collection of artefacts and archives that relate to

Devon and Cornwall Police Devon and Cornwall Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the ceremonial counties of Devon and Cornwall (including the Isles of Scilly) in South West England. The force serves approximately 1.8 million people over an ...

and its antecedent forces that include the Devon County Constabulary and Cornwall County Constabulary and date back to the earliest days of policing. The archives contain many records relating to police officers who served and is of particular interest to genealogists. Active collecting of police material in the Devon and Cornwall area began in the 1970s.

Police Constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. ''Constable'' is commonly the rank of an police officer, officer within a police ser ...

Brian Estill was concerned that there was no heritage policy within the force. Estill saved items from skips, and worked to establish a formal heritage collection. The museum's collection of objects are stored at

Okehampton Okehampton ( ) is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in West Devon in the English county of Devon. At the 2021 census, the parish had a population of 7,313, which was slightly more than the 7,104 recorded at the 2011 census. Th ...

Police Station while the archive materials are located at the

Devon Heritage Centre There are three local archives covering the historic county of Devon, England. The Devon Heritage Centre in Exeter is the main archive. It has a branch office, the North Devon Record Office in Barnstaple (established in 1988), which is the rep ...

. Although the collection at Okehampton is not open to the public, public access is provided through a mini-museum located within Tavistock's Court Gate building.

Gallery

File:Police Force, Devonport, 1862-1914 - Devon & Cornwall Constabulary - PA-1-5-1-2-1.jpg, Devonport Borough Police Register. Police Force, Devonport, 1862-1914 File:Police Gazette - Metropolitan Police - PA-1-8-6-5-2.jpg, Bound volume of "Police Gazette" File:Police Patrol Bicycle - Museum of Policing in Devon & Cornwall - PA4030022.jpg, Police Patrol Bicycle File:Policemen with Bicycles - Devon & Cornwall Constabulary - P5150003.jpg, Reproduction of old photograph of policemen with bicycles. Seventeen Cornish police officers of various ranks with their bikes in, 1913 File:Sentinel Issue 4 1988 - Devon & Cornwall Constabulary - PA-1-2-6-1-9.jpg, 'Sentinel' magazine issue 4.88 (04.12.1988) which gives an overview of the Devon and Cornwall Police

References

External links

* * Crime in Cornwall Crime in Devon Devon and Cornwall Police Law enforcement museums in England Museums in Devon Okehampton {{UK-museum-stub