Commit a felony and it might end up being recorded for posterity at the police Crime Museum in Floriana. But one would rather you don't. Crime does not pay. That is precisely the message the police wanted to communicate to the public when they decided to set up a museum featuring crimes committed on the island over the years.

An extensive hall at the police headquarters hosts showcases depicting a selection of the island's more notorious homicides and, in addition, exhibits connected to the crime, including the weapons used.

Combine a holding cell and a replica of the gallows to the display and the lock is fastened. Holding cells are more or less large enough to accommodate a single mattress, no more. Stopping the prisoner from walking out? A solid steel door ensures there's nowhere to go.

The gallows remain a stark reminder of the ultimate punishment, even if it has not been used for several decades.

Each diorama depicting a homicide is based on photos taken on the scene of the crime. Authentic weapons used during the crime and photos taken complete the picture.

"However," explains Sergeant Major Saviour Garcia, curator of the museum, "photos of the murderer or the victim and information on the motive behind the crime were excluded as we believe those should remain private."

But what's with drowning a mother in a water basin and allowing her daughter to discover her, as in the first showcase? Sergeant Major Garcia recounts the case of Rose Casaletto, killed on the night of October 23, 1981 in her own house. The murderer? Francis Casaletto, her husband.

"It's also jokes that can go wrong," the officer explains, pointing at the next showcase depicting the murder of Ċikku Sultana. Major Garcia recounted how Mr Sultana was shot twice, beaten with a knuckle duster and then beaten with a plough by Marjanu Stellini, who was then held under preventive arrest at Mount Carmel Hospital on medical advice.

"These are people who couldn't control their anger," Sergeant Major Garcia commented. "Leave the house, go to a bar and indulge in a drink or two. There's no need to take it this far... But then don't do it because you're drunk," he said with a smile.

"It's also unfortunate that a large number of cases involved a husband killing his wife. The opposite has happened too. One, fit to be turned into a movie, was the murder of Ġuża Formosa." Her husband, Leli Formosa, connected a live electricity cable to the clothesline and even planted a bomb beneath a handkerchief in a basin full of clothes. When his wife picked up the handkerchief to hang it she detonated the bomb. "It is rumoured that all that was left was a smoking hand holding onto the line," Major Garcia said.

Then, pointing to other showcases, he described the various items associated with crime: Counterfeit items such as clothes, shoes and handbags; drugs including heroin, cocaine and cannabis; machine guns, shotguns and pistols; explosive substances such as potassium, sulphur and magnesium powder and forged documents, among them banknotes, passports and visas.

Sergeant Major Garcia explained that the museum was Police Commissioner John Rizzo's initiative and is under the care of his assistant, Sergeant Marlene Falzon, and himself.