Police Museum

San Martín 353 - 7th and 8th Floors
Tel. 394-6857
Open Tuesdays through Fridays from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Holidays: January and February

The seed was sown by General Domingo Viejobueno in 1892. However, it was not until April 24, 1899, that the museum was created, during the period when Mr. Francisco Julián Beazley was Chief of Police, and General Roca was President of the country. It was the first museum of its kind in Latin America, and the second at a world-wide level, since its only forerunner is its Scotland Yard counterpart.
The Museum occupied different premises and access was "restricted" until it was finally opened to the public. In 1967 it was transferred to its current location where its twenty exhibition rooms offer an insight into historical, technical and criminal aspects of police activity.
The Medal Room harbours a collection of 2,000 items, with particular importance attached to the cock figure, which has stood as the heraldic police symbol in our country since 1822. The history of the institution is shown through the exhibition of lay figures clad in old and modern uniforms, and a photo gallery of police officers fallen in action.
The relationship of the Federal Police with its foreign counterparts - established at present through Interpol - is illustrated together with the development of communication systems and the dactyloscopic system conceived by Juan Vucetich. Firemen are also present in the museum, and amongst the exhibits in this section is the oldest existing piston pump dating back to 1866.
The museum also harbours collections of firearms, sabres, lay figures in feminine uniforms, shields and badges. Other aspects covered are drug addiction, thefts and robbery, frauds and swindles, quackery and divination. In the criminology and forensic medicine rooms, qualified as "of restricted access", exhibits illustrate famous murders and cases, and amazingly real-looking anatomical pieces.