Craving your Agatha Christie fix while holidaying in London? For the first time ever, never-before-seen objects from the Metropolitan Police’s Crime Museum are on public display at the Museum of London in a major exhibition.

Previously only accessible to police professionals and invited guests, The Crime Museum Un-covered exhibition reveals the secrets of the Crime Museum, created by serving police officers since its establishment in 1875.

The exhibition, which was created with the support of the Metropolitan Police Service and the Mayor’s Office for Policing And Crime (MOPAC), takes visitors on a journey through real cases and how they were investigated, bringing them close to the objects and evidence from some of the UK’s most notorious crimes, including the Acid Bath Murderer of 1949, the Great Train Robbery of 1963 and the Millennium Dome Diamond Heist of 2000.

It also examines some of the challenges faced in policing the capital, tackling themes from terrorism and espionage to counterfeiting and narcotics.

Aside from police professionals, the Crime Museum’s visitors’ book reveals an eclectic list of high-profile guests over the years. King George V (1865-1936), Sherlock Holmes author, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930), illusionist Harry Houdini (1874-1926) and comedy double act Stan Laurel (1890-1965) and Oliver Hardy (1892-1957) have all stepped inside the infamous museum, currently housed within the Metropolitan Police’s HQ, New Scotland Yard.

Execution ropes from the 19th and 20th century. Right: Death masks.

Now, for six months only, visitors to the Museum of London can gain unprecedented access to highlights from the collection, which was established in the mid-1870s as a teaching tool to educate officers. The Museum of London worked closely with the independent London Policing Ethics Panel in the planning of the exhibition, giving special attention to ensuring that the interests of victims are protected.

The exhibition seeks to dispel some of the myths that have been incorrectly associated with the Crime Museum over the past 140 years

The Crime Museum Uncovered is curated at the Museum of London by Julia Hoffbrand and Jackie Keily. It builds upon the museum’s expertise and follows exhibitions like Jack the Ripper (2008), Dickens and London (2011) and Sherlock Holmes (2014) in exploring the darker side of London. Sharon Ament, director of the Museum of London, explained how crime is an unfortunate byproduct of big-city life and a reality that Londoners are all too familiar with.

Objects related to the murder of Olive Durand Deacan in 1949.

“Challenging and disturbing, familiar and unsettling, The Crime Museum Uncovered uses select objects from this extraordinary, hidden collection to consider the changing nature of crime and advances in detection over the past 140 years. Through focusing on people – victims, perpetrators and police officers – we use real objects to explore the human stories behind some of the UK’s most well-known crimes, personalising what is so often de-personalised. And in doing so, we confront how, as a society, we respond when normality is shattered, lives are torn apart and we need to rebuild.”

A firearm and criminal record belonging to gangster Ronnie Kray.

The Crime Museum Uncovered will also seek to dispel some of the myths that have been incorrectly associated with the Crime Museum. For example, Jack the Ripper’s ‘From Hell’ letter resides at the National Archives and not at the Crime Museum.

Similarly, the rope used to execute Ruth Ellis – the last woman executed for murder in the UK – is not part of the collection. Yet, the Crime Museum does hold the weapon used to murder her racing driver lover, David Blakely, in 1955.

These and other artefacts held in the museum provide visitors with an insight into the evolution of crime investigation and criminal justice as the public gains access to exhibits from some of the most complex and notorious criminal investigations carried out by the Metropolitan Police to discover how such crimes were solved.

“The evolution of London’s police force plays a fascinating part in the history of our city. Many of the policing methods now used by forces all over the world were developed here in the capital by our pioneering policing techniques. This exhibition will bring this story alive, in some instances out from behind closed doors for the first time, allowing us to reflect on the victims at the centre of each of these cases and learn more about how the creativity of the past has shaped the way the police work today.”

The Crime Museum Uncovered runs at the Museum of London until April 10 and is accompanied by a programme of talks and events. Tickets are available online.

www.museumoflondon.org.uk