South Wales Police museum visit for pupils from Arch Deacon John Lewis Primary school

During the visit the pupils were shown a video presentation, and question and answer session about policing during Victorian times, which highlighted the work of Police Constable James James, who policed 150 years ago. The video showed the equipment that PC James used to police Victorian communities, including snips, a bullseye lantern, a tall ‘chimney pot’ style hat, and decorated truncheons. It also provided the pupils with details of PC James’s pocket book entries that included incidents of vagrancy, theft of bread and cheese from shops, and theft of coal.

The pupils had plenty of questions to ask South Wales Police Museum Curator Laura Pearcey, and two volunteers Tia Carson, and Elliot Volkaerts took on the roles of Police Constables to show the differences in the equipment used by South Wales Police officers today, compared to Victorian times. It was decided by all the pupils that they would prefer to be Police Constables with modern equipment, including an asp, handcuffs, torch, and radios.

The pupils then became museum detectives to answer a range of police questions that were included on their activity sheets. The pupils had to explore the extensive range of police museum artefacts and remember their newly learnt Victorian policing facts to answer the questions. As part of the practical exercise, the pupils even entered a Victorian police cell, where they could see a life size model of a prisoner.

In addition the pupils got to learn more about current policing, with presentations by the South Wales Police Roads Poling Department, including police motorbikes, and armed response vehicles. The pupils and teachers took the opportunity to speak with officers, and even got to sit on the police motorbike, and try on some of the protective uniforms worn by officers.

The school visit concluded with a visit to the South Wales Police Dog Section, where the pupils were briefed on the role of dogs in policing, including their use for searches.

South Wales Police Museum Curator Laura Pearcey stated “It was a pleasure to welcome the pupils from Arch Deacon John Lewis Primary School to South Wales Police Headquarters, for their museum visit. The museum displays an extensive range of interesting police artefacts that showed the pupils the differences between historic policing and that of today’s officers on the beat.”

Laura Pearcey continues “The pupils took part in a range of practical exercises that encouraged them to explore the museum, along with experiencing first hand the modern policing resources used to make our communities even safer, including the bikes, and police dogs.”

For further information on the South Wales Police Museum please contact Museum Curator Laura Pearcey on 01656 303207.