The Museum of Policing in Devon & Cornwall archive is cared for by partner organisation Southwest Heritage Trust.
Our collection is arranged under the broad headings of “Objects”, which are housed in storerooms at the police station in Okehampton Police Station, plus “Archive”, consisting of documents and photographs, housed at the Devon Records Office in Exeter. The total number of items are in the tens of thousands. All material is related to the history of the police force(s) and policing in the counties of Devon and Cornwall.
Museum materials date from the early 1800s to the present day, including material connected with specific high-profile cases (often violent crime), which are managed within police information management guidelines as well as archival best practice and the Museums Association Code of Ethics.
A guide to the archive and how to use it is here. The Museum receives enquiries requesting research services from genealogists, local historians and writers for books, TV, film, and radio. Also, from university students, schools, societies, and local history groups. Email us with information on your search and for an enquiry form. Pricing Policy is as follows:
PRICING POLICY FOR ENQUIRIES & RESEARCH – MUSEUM OF POLICING IN DEVON AND CORNWALL
CHARGES – Museum of Policing in Devon & Cornwall Members
Museum Members wishing to do their own research at the South West Heritage Trust (SWHT) offices at Great Moor House, Sowton, Exeter, are permitted to do so free of charge.
Arrangements must be made in advance quoting your Museum membership status with the Police Archivist, Andrew Veal-Cox, who will withdraw the relevant documents from the archive store and who will advise on legalities of your research. Contact details below.
Museum Members are granted one hour’s professional research free-of-charge per annum. This may be cumulative, i.e. a 30-minute enquiry in one month plus a 15-minute enquiry in another month will show as a cumulative 45-minutes toward that Member’s free hour.
Ordering research or copies of documents
- Please specify as clearly and precisely as possible the information that you are seeking, and enclose any relevant information which might assist us.
- Please provide the exact references for the documents if known.
- Please state your preferred format of research, i.e. paper photocopies, or digital images in .JPEGs (N.B. some documents cannot be photocopied and will be supplied in digital format).
How long will I have to wait?
Enquiries are dealt with in the order that we receive them. At busy periods, you may expect a delay of up to 4 weeks. Otherwise most Museum enquiries are dealt with within 2 weeks. Please be aware the Police Archive is only manned three days a week.
What will you receive?
If you have requested research, you will receive a report outlining the sources examined and results obtained, together with advice on further avenues of research. Digital images will be provided as .JPEG files unless higher resolution images are needed for publication purposes.
- All other enquiries and research costs will mirror the SWHT policy as below.
CHARGES – Non-Museum of Policing in Devon & Cornwall Members
- Standard Rate: £40 sterling or equivalent per hour inclusive of VAT and postage (UK)
- Minimum charges: £20 (for Inland Revenue wills, a single digital image and up to 4 photocopies from microfilm); £20 for research; and £20 for DVLA licences.
- Business/Legal Rate: £80 sterling per hour.
All Police Archive enquiries to:
The Archivist: Andrew.Veal-Cox@swheritage.org.uk cc info@dcpolicingmuseum.co.uk
Museum of Policing in Devon & Cornwall Police Archive: Devon Heritage Centre, Great Moor House, Bittern Road, Exeter EX2 7NL. The archive is open to the public and by appointment for particular research items. More information can be found here.
To search our archive catalogue online, see here.
The Museum’s Digital Archive is a separate resource which is keyword searchable and only available to Museum Members. You may view more Membership information here.
A sample of content may be experienced at the Museum digital blog site here.