Policing Plymouth 1892 to 1929 - Melville Corner

Museum of Policing in Devon & Cornwall is proud to present an exhibition in association with Timelock Productions:

Policing Plymouth 1892 to 1929

1st to 10th May 2026. 11am to 4pm daily.

Policing Plymouth, navigating the late Victorian period into the Roaring Twenties.

Explore how early policing developed in Plymouth across the three towns and how changing expectations, technologies and fortunes changed policing.

Meet two of the most innovative Chief Constables of Plymouth during times of great change: Joseph Davidson Sowerby and Herbert Hards Sanders.

Find out how they led their officers, the difficulties presented by being part of an area of towns with high military activity. Campaigning for a safer Plymouth as well as maintaining law and order. With the advent of the motor car, the harsh reality of the Great War, and grinding poverty there was much to do.

The film, How Do You Fix A Town Like Plymouth, by Timelock Productions will be shown as part of the exhibition.

This dramatised documentary has been researched and presented by Professor Kim Stevenson covering the tenure of Chief Constable Sowerby up until 1914.