International Police Museum
The museum is temporarily closed pending relocation
Please check back here for updates.
Join us in honoring the men and women of law enforcement
May 10–16, 2020
In 1962, President Kennedy and Congress designated May 15 as National Peace Officers Memorial Day and the calendar week in which May 15 falls, as National Police Week. National Police Week was established to honor the men and women of law enforcement, and to give special recognition to those law enforcement officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty for the safety and protection of others.
The principal organizers of National Police Week include:
National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF), which produces the annual Candlelight Vigil.
Phone: 202.737.3400 · vigil@nleomf.org
Fraternal Order of Police/Fraternal Order of Police Auxiliary (FOP/FOPA), which organize the Peace Officers Memorial Day Service at the U.S. Capitol.
www.policeweek.org
Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S.), which holds the National Police Survivors’ Conference.
Phone: (573) 346-4911 · cops@nationalcops.org
32nd Annual Candlelight Vigil
5:00pm PDT
Wednesday, May 13, 2020
Each year, hundreds of American law enforcement officers are killed in the line of duty. Their names are added to the walls of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, DC. This year, 307 more names are being engraved on those walls.
On May 13, the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund will livestream its annual Candlelight Vigil to read aloud each of the names of those 307 brave men and women in respect, honor, and remembrance. Law enforcement leaders, celebrities, U.S. officials, and American icons will come together to pay tribute to our fallen. Join us in solidarity with, and in support of, the surviving families and agencies of our heroes who have made the ultimate sacrifice.
Watch the 32nd Annual Candlelight Vigil from anywhere in the world on Wednesday, May 13, at 5pm Pacific on any of the following Internet platforms:
YouTube
BUILDseries.com
Facebook
To light a virtual candle or register for updates on the event, please visit LawMemorial.org/VirtualCandlelightVigil.
2020 National Police Week Sponsors
Light a Virtual Candle
32nd Annual Candlelight Vigil
IPM Salutes our Local Officers
 Chief Charles Stewart |
 Sergeant Sean Ahlers |
 Officer Christopher Rondeau |
Welcome to the International Police Museum
Our purpose is to collect, preserve, exhibit, and interpret police culture, history, and heritage of police departments for the public; to foster mutual appreciation, understanding, and respect between police and the public they serve by way of education and demystification of law enforcement through presentations and displays of loaned and owned uniforms, equipment, and ephemera as outlined in the bylaws of the International Police Museum.
Featured Exhibit
Women in Law Enforcement
While Alice Stebbins Wells of Los Angeles PD gets credit for being the first female officer in the U.S., she was actually preceded by an Oregonian, Lola Greene Baldwin of the Portland Police Bureau, who was sworn in as a “female detective” on April 1, 1908. Since that time women have become a valuable asset and are significant contributors to the law enforcement community, both in the United States and internationally. Women now make up nearly 14% of officers in the United States (Bureau of Justice Statistics). The Museum is proud to recognize their achievements with a new exhibit to coincide with the recognition of Law Enforcement Memorial Day, May 15, 2016.