Toronto Police Museum and Discovery Centre — Attraction in Toronto

This museum operates on donations from the public. Despite otherwise being free, the Toronto police museum is perhaps one of the most overlooked tourist attractions in Toronto. Yet, the object of the museum (ie the Toronto Police) has played one of the most important and relevant roles in the city of Toronto’s development, modernization, and overall history.

The museum itself is the perfect size; no too big so as to discourage you from reading the wealth of information provided by the museum, yet not too small so as to make it irrelevant. The whole museum can be explored in 1 hour to 1 hour or less or, for those who aren’t interested in reading the information provided in each section, can easily be completed in 20 to 30 minutes.

As for the content of the museum, it features a variety of different historical artifacts that are well supported by short, concise, informative, explanatory, anecdotal, and easy to read panels. For those who can’t read English, the physical objects and photos displayed at the museum are self-explanatory and interesting to observe in and of themselves.

Examples of objects on display include: life-size replicas of old Harley Davidson police motorcycles and patrol cars; life-size replicas of different Toronto police uniforms; mug shots of some of Toronto’s earliest and most infamous outlaws; replicas if and, in some cases, actual old pistols/guns; a life-size replica of an old Toronto Police station; replicas of illegal street drugs (eg LCD, cocaine, etc.); examples of forensic evidence gather on crime scenes, such as hair, fibres, dry blood, etc.;...

I visited the Toronto Police Museum and was approached by an officer on duty who asked where I was from and how I felt about Toronto. Since someone had taken the trouble to ask (whether casually or sincerely), I decided to answer honestly. I told him come from China and about being scammed, assaulted, and targeted by staged accidents here.

The officer listened and said he was truly sorry. I replied, “Yes—your response times are too slow, you treat good people too harshly and bad people too well—so you should be sorry.” He gave me an apologetic smile and said that although the process might be long, there would be a result.

What I didn’t say aloud was that in the country I come from, police are enforcers for an oppressive state—accomplices and tools of power—where even speaking such words could get me accused of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble.”

What I didn’t say was that every scammer, assailant, and fraudster I’ve encountered in Toronto so far has been some Chinese national. If anyone should be apologizing, it’s those criminals—to Toronto, and to me.

I couldn’t find the right role or position from which to voice all that, so I simply gave him a bitter smile.

Toronto is neither as good as its best image, nor as bad as its worst moments. It has made me, a Police abolitionism, reconsider my views—pushing me to think and feel more deeply about Toronto and the world. It may never be “good,” but there are still people here making efforts that look futile on the surface, yet matter in their own quiet ways.

The disappointment is real. But so...

A small museum with lots of potential! (Especially given that the museum does not actually receive funding from the Police Service.) The concept is excellent and I passed by the curator by chance and had a little chat. She is a very friendly and warm person and you could tell she is dedicated to the museum! I enjoyed the interactive features; for example, you could ride on the motorcycle and have your photo taken. However, many of the lights in the gallery were not open/broken, making it difficult to see many of the exhibits/read the descriptions. And as another reviewer pointed out, some of the cases were dusty and the exhibits overall could use some updates. I understanding that it's challenging given the limited funding, so I'm really hoping that the museum receives more funding, as it's really neat to trace the history of a type of service that is so relevant and crucial to our everyday lives. Note that for individual visits, you no longer need to book in advance; just come by during its opening hours and pass through security at the front entrance. The gift shop closed early during my visit (not sure if that's a more long-term hour change), but I'd love to come back to the gift shop and...