Greater Manchester Police Museum & Archives — Attraction in Manchester

I visited here during the half term break with my son (11), daughter (9), and my friends with their two sons (13 and 10). We went on Tuesday morning, at around 1130am. Surprisingly, there was a queue to get in, but it didn't take long to gain entry inside. It is free to go in, but you can make donations should you wish. It is a great museum but it is small and doesn't take too long to view it all. You could extend the visit if you read every little bit of history that is in there. Various sections to visit, such as the detective room, craft and dress up room, charging office, cells, and a courtroom. The kids enjoyed the cells the most and spent most of their time there. The volunteers are excellent. They are either in historical police outfits or their volunteer tshirts and trousers. Some of the volunteers have roles to play, such as discussing the charge room, uniform, processes, etc. Or in the cells, the volunteer told us about the old days and how the cells worked back in the day. Some of the volunteers are retired police officers and have some funny stories of old, if they have the time to stand and chat. Very pleasant. You can get a free, timed ticket on entry to visit the courtroom. We went in at 130pm. It is an interactive visit, whereby the kids and adults get to hear a court case and decide if the offender is guilty or not guilty. Quite funny for adults, the kids loved it and found making the decision too enjoyable! 🤣 I have been to the museum before, without the kids, and enjoyed it. The only thing that let it down for me on our visit was the number of people inside. It was too busy. It was difficult to see a lot of the items or read the history as you felt the need to move on to let others see inside. My daughter was disappointed at one point as she couldn't squeeze through to view things. It was difficult and very tight moving in between certain areas of the museum. If I were to visit with the kids again, I would probably go later in the day when the rush has most likely been and gone. You would probably benefit more from the visit. Saying that, the kids had a great time. They did learn things from their visit, and it was a good day out. The staff were very helpful, especially when they were so busy, and I thought they did an excellent job. There is no parking, so if in a vehicle, you need to park in one of the many car parks in the city and walk to the museum. There are toilet facilities inside, including a baby changing/disabled room. There is a small shop when leaving. There is no cafe on site to buy food or drinks. I would recommend to others who are...

My 7 year old daughter and i just visited the museum on a Thursday in half term, we expected it to be very busy but it wasn't, we entered straight away. My daughter absolutely loves the police force so this has been on our list for quite some time but the opening times made it tricky, its only open on Tuesdays then sometimes Thursdays during school holidays (you can check the Facebook page). She loved trying on the different uniforms and seeing the police bikes (no other vehicles, we thought there would be a car). We collected our tickets to the court room as we entered, and what fun she had in there, called to the stand to be a witness as a little pig against the big bad (very funny) wolf! We then made our way down to the cells where we met a lovely volunteer who talked with her and answered all her questions and then to the charge desk to be shown different equipment the force have used through time to the present day. The museum is only small but we were there for 1hr 30m and she loved it. One of the best teams of volunteers we have come across, everyone we interacted with were lovely and insightful! Theres a little gift shop at the exit where she upgraded some of her costume pieces, not overpriced either like they usually are.

I will add we were very pleased to see our manx symbol on the...

A fascinating museum run by volunteers. The passion and information they have bring this museum to life. All so friendly and helpful. Your initially greeted and explore some of the history of GMP before moving on to look at the uniform thoughout the years and how it's changed.

The crime room has many gory weapons, many of which hand crafted out of day to day items to create something far more sinister.

You then move on to see some vehicles before popping briefly outside to move into the custody wing. Here, again, the staff are full of knowledge and will have you captivated explaining the equipment the price have though the years and how it also keeps them safe. There are original cells to explore with some quirky features such as a bell to ring to flush your toilet.

Finally head upstairs (lift is available) and you can see a beautiful courtroom set up ready for a hearing.

A free to visit museum openon Tuesdays and worth a visit. Likely allow around an hour if you wish to read the information and chat...