National Law Enforcement Museum

The National Law Enforcement Museum will be mostly-underground and located adjacent to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, DC's Judiciary Square (400 block of E Street, NW). The Museum will tell the story of American law enforcement through high-tech interactive exhibits, historical and contemporary artifact collections, a dedicated space for research, and diverse educational programming.

History

In 2000, the United States Congress authorized the establishment of the National Law Enforcement Museum, to tell the story of law enforcement in the United States. Stories of the fallen will be featured in the Museum's "Hall of Remembrance." The bill, signed into law by President Bill Clinton on November 9, 2000, authorized the planning for the museum. The public review process to authorize construction at the site took five years.[1]

On October 14, 2010, Attorney General Eric Holder, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and others broke ground on the construction of the museum.[1] As of October 2012, over $58 million in private donations have been raised.[1]

On February 28, 2014, Rep. Steny Hoyer introduced the bill To amend the National Law Enforcement Museum Act to extend the termination date (H.R. 4120; 113th Congress) into the United States House of Representatives.[2] The bill would extend until November 9, 2016, the authority of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, a nonprofit organization, to construct a museum on federal lands within the District of Columbia honoring law enforcement officers.[3]

Purpose

The Memorial and Museum are both projects of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF), a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization based in Washington, D.C. The Memorial Fund maintains the Memorial, collects and analyzes information about officer fatalities and publishes research bulletins on fatality trends. As officer fatalities on roadways have increased in recent years, the NLEOMF launched the "Drive Safely" [4] campaign to decrease law enforcement fatalities on the road.

Design

Scheduled to open in 2016, the Museum is being created through the generous donations of individuals, law enforcement organizations, corporations and foundations. The architect for the museum is Davis Buckley Architects and Planners, the firm that also designed the Memorial. Plans for the museum's exhibitions include permanent galleries and one changing exhibitions gallery, all designed by Christopher Chadbourne & Associates of Boston.

The building will be located below ground with two entrance pavilions with 55,000 square feet (5,100 m2) of interior space. The excavation for the building will go down 40 feet (12 m) below the surface. Exhibits and highlights are expected to include:

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Trescott, Jaqueline (October 15, 2010). "Law enforcement museum is on track". Washington Post. p. C5.
  2. ↑ "H.R. 4120 - All Actions". United States Congress. Retrieved 30 April 2014.
  3. ↑ "CBO - H.R. 4120". Congressional Budget Office. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
  4. ↑ Drive Safely Website
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Coordinates: 38°53′48″N 77°01′03″W / 38.8967°N 77.0176°W / 38.8967; -77.0176

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