SAPS Museum:
The History of the Police Museum in Pretoria

The Police Museum dates back to 1932 when the SAP College, a depot at that time, started it on a small scale. The items on display mainly included instruments used in the commission of crime, exhibits in important and sensational criminal cases and other items connected with crime. The museum mainly served as an aid in the training of police students.

The Police Museum was officially opened on 23 September 1968 and is currently housed in the Compol Building. The displays were initially not augmented and the curator and his personnel devoted all their time to collecting items of historical value. The museum consequently showed no sign of expanding and as the public’s interest in the museum waned, the number of visitors to the museum gradually dwindled. Public interest in the museum was revived following the appointment of a new curator, Major Dirk Ehlers, as he immediately set about appointing several qualified artists. This enabled the museum to improve existing exhibitions and to put various items carefully collected over a period of several years, on display. This led to a substantial increase in the number of visitors to the museum.

According to Mrs Hill, an employee at the museum, the archive moved from the SAP headquarters at Wachthuis to the Compol Building in 1978. By that time the museum occupied both the ground floor and the first floor of the Compol Building.

By the end of 1982 the Compol Building had become so dilapidated that it was regarded as a safety hazard. Major Ehlers, therefore, deemed it advisable to close the entire museum while it was under restoration. The closure of the museum enabled the personnel to devote all their time to reorganizing existing exhibitions and to display them in a more historical context.

The museum was officially reopened on 1 December 1983. Visitors and various members of the police’s General Staff who attended the opening were pleasantly surprised to find that the museum no longer housed a random collection of displays, but that the exhibitions had been organized into three distinct sections. The crime section depicted various types of crime without overplaying the sensational aspect of crime. This section rather focused on education and were augmented by striking and interesting illustrations. The second section depicted the various phases of the police force’s growth and development over numerous decades. Over a period of almost 71 years, not only the appearance of police officials, but also their work situation, resources and techniques of crime investigation had changed considerably. Although the third section that dealt with “terrorism” was not entirely completed, it was also opened to the public. The exhibitions filled two entire floors of the Compol Building and immediately proved to be a popular tourist attraction.

In April 1984, the first standing orders regarding the museum and the socio-historical archives which form part of the museum were introduced to regulate museum services in the police. This placed the curator of the Police Museum in a position to exercise more control over items that had historic significance for the police and that were scattered across the country. At the same time, the curator became the commander of all other police museums that were in existence or that would still be established. Therefore, the small museum in Ventersburg also fell under the command of the curator in Pretoria.

By 1984 the museum had an extensive collection of historical items. Items such as badges, uniforms, office furniture and personal possessions were eagerly collected. The museum also corresponded with collectors of insignia and uniforms worldwide.

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In 1964 the SAP started to build up an archive. Apart from being an invaluable source of information for the museum, it also served as a source of reference for outside institutions to a certain extent.

As from 1 May 1984 the museum was no longer considered to be just a place where the police force’s history was preserved. The exhibitions had a definite educational value and the focus shifted to the prevention of crime. The museum became a showcase for presenting the SAP to the general public and foreign tourists.

The museum has, in collaboration with other museums in Pretoria, presented week-long courses during school holidays. A course in nature and cultural preservation was once presented at Maleoskop. The children were also taught how to follow up trails.

By 1984 the annual number of visitors to the museum had already exceeded the 60 000 mark, giving impetus to the concept of turning the museum into an educational institution. Museum guides were trained to make visitors more aware of crime, and one hall in the building was especially equipped to show videos of police activities and crime prevention actions. Puppet shows were used to educate schoolchildren about crime prevention.

The curator and museum officers began to plan new exhibitions and more personnel were consequently appointed. The new exhibitions included a display of the police uniforms, insignia and medals; an exhibition of the modes of transport used by the police; and various photographic exhibitions.

The museum has depicted historic crime scenes, and socio-historical scenes, with a great degree of accuracy over the years. The museum became famous for its monthly night tours that were available to the public, during which the museum staff staged dramatized enactments of certain historic events. Puppet shows were held to educate children. The museum has amassed a unique collection of exhibits and dockets pertaining to the political struggle in South Africa.

International Museum Day is celebrated annually on 18 May. The Police Museum arranged the celebrations for Museum Day in 1995. The staff of the Police Museum, the National Museum of Cultural History, Melrose House, the Pretoria Art Museum and the Transvaal Museum participated in a procession through the streets of Pretoria and the public was allowed free entrance to these museums. The Police Museum conducted a night tour which coincided with the opening of new displays. The tour formed part of the Restructuring and Development Programme and was attended by Mr Tokyo Sexwale, the then Premier of Gauteng.

The museum’s staff regularly visit other museums throughout the country to establish friendly relations and to promote cooperation. This ensures that the various museums continuously portray the history of the police as completely and realistically as possible. In August 1995, for example, they visited the museums in the Cape, which included the Castle and the Police Museum in Muizenberg.

On 11 March 1999 both the Compol Building and the Volkstem Building were closed for restoration which took nearly four years to complete. However, the archives remained open during this time and dealt with queries from the public on a daily basis.

The Volkstem Building was officially reopened on 28 June 2004. There is a brand new exhibition of transport in the SAPS in and around the building, which includes a 1938 Ford, Harley Davidson motorbikes dating back to the 1940s, a field ambulance, a Black Meraai, and a stuffed camel.

The Compol Building is currently still closed to the public, but new exhibitions are on the way. Both the first and second floors will be used for new exhibitions. The archive is situated on the ground floor and the third floor serves as offices for staff.

The museum currently has 22 members of personnel, including archivists, artists, and training officers. Superintendent Mathilda Smal, who has worked at the museum since 2 January 1982, was appointed as its curator on 1 November 1992.

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