The New Zealand Police Museum provides educational opportunities for all visitors, including free self-guided visits and activity sheets, or charged workshops and tours.

Families

Our New Zealand Police Museum Junior Detective Trail and Senior Detective Mysteries are packed full of fun activities that will keep children of all ages engaged and entertained. Activity sheets are free, fun and change every school holiday.

Enjoy our museum favourites and try out police uniforms and the Police motorbike; they make a great photo opportunities!

Schools & Groups

Group tours are available on request and can be adapted to suit individual needs and ages. Group booking charges:

• adults $5
• children $5
• senior citizens $3
• student on school trip $3

The New Zealand Police Museum covers a wide range of topics and issues including;

• the Rainbow Warrior bombing,
• 1981 Springbok Tour Protests,
• Disaster Victim Identification team work,
• The Canterbury Quakes,
• The Role of Police,
• The Armed Offenders Squad,
• Road Policing,
• The Dog Section,
• Diversity within New Zealand Police,
• 75 Years of Women in Police and
• Policing Aotearoa New Zealand in the 19th Century.

Check out the Police Museum learning and experience programme (PDF, 1.3MB) to find out more about what is on offer. Advance bookings are required.

Bookings

T (04) 238 3141
E Make an enquiry

Important Information

Museum displays reflect the nature of police work and some displays deal with issues of violence and death. All class visits are adjusted to be age appropriate. For this reason mixed aged groups are not recommended.

Pre-visit information (PDF, 361KB)
Risk Assessment Management (RAMS) (PDF, 223KB)
Social story (PDF, 12.4MB)

The New Zealand Police Museum specialises in police related objects and ephemera. 

Research enquiries regarding the Museum collection, Police personnel, and history should be submitted through the Official Information Act (OIA) request form. In the ‘What information do you require’ field, write MUSEUM first, then your enquiry.

Research fees may apply, for details please refer to Museum Enquiries at the bottom of this page.

Police Records and Personal Files

Archives New Zealand is the official repository for government archives. For access to Police records (including access to personal files for genealogical research) contact or visit Archives New Zealand.

Search Archives New Zealand online using Archway.
Access to Police records is restricted until 100 years from date of closure, or 70 years from date of closure for Police Gazettes.

Criminal Records

To find out about access to criminal records visit the Ministry of Justice website.

General Police History

Most districts of New Zealand have a book outlining the history of policing in their local area. To view a list of books about policing in New Zealand visit the Police history page.

Most of these titles will be available through your local library. Alternatively contact the Police Museum to purchase any of the books on the list via the Museum shop.

Mug Shots

As part of the online exhibition 'Suspicious Looking: 19th Century Mug Shots from the New Zealand Police Museum' we have made a number of previously unaccessible mug shots available online. The images provided online may be used for educational or non-commercial purposes. The Museum is not able to provide higher quality reproductions of the photographs, nor any additional information on the individuals in the mug shots. To learn more about the people in the images and the crimes they committed, you can try searching old newspapers online using the National Library of New Zealand's digitised archive 'Papers Past'.

Museum enquiries

T (04) 238 3141
E museum@police.govt.nz

New Zealand Police Museum charging schedule for research enquiries: Charging schedule (PDF, 271KB) 

Museum Enquiries

P (04) 238 3141
E Police Museum contact form

Location

New Zealand Police Museum
Royal New Zealand Police College
Papakowhai Road
Porirua, Wellington

Opening hours

10am – 5pm every day except Christmas Day and Good Friday.

Admission

General admission is free. Pre-planned tours and educational programmes:

• museum events (except Christmas Day and Good Friday)
• adults $5
• school holiday programmes $5
• senior citizens $3
• students $3

Amenities

Wheelchair access, free parking, rest-room.

Social story (PDF, 12.4MB)

The Museum also has a small onsite gift shop. You can purchase police souvenirs, children’s toys and police history books. We stock the popular police dog soft toy puppy in either the mako vest or dress uniform.

All shop product is supplied by The Cop Shop (Munro Canteen Inc).

Staff

Rowan Carroll
Chief Curator New Zealand Police

Jessica Aitken
Curator Collections

Kate Ngatokorua
Kaiako Pouwhakarite education and public programmes

Jenna Logan
Education Officer

Front of house team:
museum@police.govt.nz