This is my blog on the Campaign for Records website which was published in May 2022 Police archive; image by Angie Sutton-Vane My interest in police records began whilst working as the curator of a police force museum. The small and closed facility held a diverse collection including a large archive of general orders, station … Continue reading Police records, history and accountability
Blog Posts
The preservation of records and the writing of police histories
A number of histories of UK police forces begin right at the beginning of policing with rich information about parish constabularies, early reform and the establishment of the Metropolitan Police. For some, by the chronological ending of the book, information tends to get thinner or peter out. The reasons for this could be three-fold. First, … Continue reading The preservation of records and the writing of police histories
The Crime Museum Uncovered and the edges of dark tourism
Above is a screenshot of my post at The Conversation. Below is a fuller and earlier version: A few weeks ago I made a long-anticipated pilgrimage to The Museum of London to visit The Crime Museum Uncovered; anticipated because, for the last 11 years I have curated another police museum, and the dilemmas of keeping and … Continue reading The Crime Museum Uncovered and the edges of dark tourism
The Jack the Ripper Museum and thoughts around “Ripperology”
I have been following the debate around the opening of the new Jack the Ripper Museum at 12 Cable Street, London both on the Museum Association's LinkedIn pages, and also via the press who have interviewed irate support groups and local communities. Yet I can't help reflecting that the man at the root of it all - Mark Palmer-Edgecumbe - will be … Continue reading The Jack the Ripper Museum and thoughts around “Ripperology”
Foxes in hen houses – the theft of rare books from national libraries
A while back in June 2015 I attended a conference called The Written Heritage of Mankind in Peril at the British Library convened by the library, the Institute of Art and Law, the Union Internationale des Avocates, the Commission for Art Recovery, Hunters Solicitors and the Centre for Commercial Law Studies at Queen Mary University of London. … Continue reading Foxes in hen houses – the theft of rare books from national libraries
The British Museum – ducking the questions?
On Monday 13th July I attended a great workshop at the British Museum on Using Museum Archives (post to follow). It was an overcast, very humid day and I felt hot and flustered after my journey. The noise and heat in the central court was overwhelming so, with some time to spare, I tried to … Continue reading The British Museum – ducking the questions?
Dr Angie Sutton-Vane 