the museum of crime

Since the 1930s Ghent’s Judicial Police unit has amassed a remarkable collection of photographs, objects and files which illustrate how crimes have been solved. This collection has cumulated over the years in the so-called ‘Museum of Crime’, accessible only to the police or by invitation. Textbook cases from the policing practice were used to train investigators to look for relevant details, marks and other clues to solve crimes like poisoning, counterfeiting and safe-cracking.

STAM set to work with this material to make it accessible to everyone in an exhibition. The fact-finding techniques used at the time to solve crimes were recorded: registration of physical evidence, ballistics, witness statements, reconstruction, etc., including the role of police physicians and other experts. These techniques, illustrated with original evidence, guide you through the exhibition. It looks at infamous and lesser-known murder cases and thefts in the wider region around Ghent. This extraordinary collection is bound to kindle the detective in you!

In The Museum of Crime you will learn how Ghent’s judicial police came into existence and how they themselves presented their ‘criminal’ collection. The games of chance and ‘indecent’ photographs stored along with confiscated illicit goods show how our view of crime is defined by the zeitgeist.

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