Honolulu Police Department Museum — Attraction in Honolulu

What an incredible find, inside the busy police headquarters. We visited on a busy day for the museum without having booked in advance, but we're greeted with a warm welcome and given the royal tour. Given the option of walking round on your own, or taking the royal tour, you're much better off with the tour. The museum staff are truly dedicated to preserving, and forwarding the history of the Honolulu Police department to and for future generations, with plans for multilingual 'itours' in the near future. Guides, who are former officers of the dept, are friendly, informative and humorous with a vast knowledge of the items in their care. This small, free, museum is listed on a couple of tourists websites but is still one of those rare gems, not exactly hidden away whilst not being a tourists trap. I cannot recommend a visit strongly enough to any ex-forces, military or civilian, or anyone with an interest in either the history of Honolulu and / or Hawaii, or an interest in policing. My only regret is that there wasn't a donations box for us to leave a thank you for the wonderful time we had there.

I did have some pictures, and the names of the curators on my phone.. but it was stolen on our return to the UK. Thanks for making our visit...

Went to Honolulu Police Department Museum and ended up getting a mind-blowing tour with historian and retired HPD Officer Dana Fatu Jr, the museum curator. Mr Fatu is a first-rate storyteller. I was riveted from beginning to end. Few interesting quick facts: Hollywood film series Charlie Chan was based on Chinese-Hawaiian detective Chang Apana, whose reputation for rounding up criminals was legendary. In the 70s, HPD's Lucille Abreu, 5'2", passed the sergeant's exam but was repeatedly denied promotion, so she filed a federal law suit and that resulted in the elimination of the minimum height requirement for all American police officers. • There is no upper age limit to join the HPD. Fatu says recently a 64-year-old man joined the force! So I still have a chance! "Book 'em, Danie." Yes, I made my partner female! This is just a small fraction of the wonderful stuff you'll learn at this museum, which is also packed with cool memorabilia....

This is the biggest hidden gem free activity in Honolulu. We were just blown away by this museum and the tour we received by retired Officer Eddie. It's located in the heart of Honolulu at the Beretania St. main Honolulu Police Department Branch. The amount of history was just amazing. I'm big on Hawaiian history, but I just had no idea there was so much about the HPD.

We spent just over an hour, but really needed about an hour and a half or two to get the full experience. The best part of this visit, was that it is 100% free. The parking is the only thing that will cost you.

I just can't say enough good things about this tour and museum. It is good for young and old, but especially for those who love Hawaii and it's history. This in my book is a must do regardless if your are a resident...