About Us
Winnipeg Police Museum & Historical Society
Mission Statement
The objectives and purposes of Winnipeg Police Museum and Historical Society are:
- to discover and collect any material related to the local police services
- to promote the research and recording of the history of the local police services
- to provide for the preservation of material collected and to ensure its accessibility to those who wish to examine or study it
- to promote the rebuilding and refurbishing of police equipment and apparatus
- to promote and encourage public interest in police history
Since 1974 the Winnipeg Police Museum & Historical Society has been collecting records and artifacts related to policing in Winnipeg.
Following the amalgamation of all police departments in the metropolitan area in 1974, two police officers, John “Jack” Templeman and Robert “Burt” Hutchison, were appointed as a “Historical Committee”. The two men set out to gather records and artifacts from all the former departments with the intent that someday a museum might be established. Unfortunately, since amalgamation began in 1972, the various police departments did not take history into account and destroyed most record and equipment.
In 1986 a number of interested police officers got together to form a properly constituted museum board of directors. A Constitution and a set of By-Laws were drafted and approved and the museum was registered and incorporated in Manitoba.
In 1994 a part-time Curator, Jack Templeman, was employed under the Board of Directors. Jack also served as the Historian for the Police Service and helped celebrate the 125th Anniversary of the Police Department in 1999 by publishing a book on the history of the department from 1874 to 1999 “From Force to Service.”
Meet the Board of Directors
Executive
John Burchill
Rod Hutter
Stacey Cann
Jernej Anderlic
Directors
Gary Walker
Alex Katz
Peter Korzeniowski
Chris Lundgren
Mark Hodgson
Norm Rimmer
John Siderius
Tammy Skrabek
Our Founding Members
John "Jack" Templeman
Jack Templeman began his Policing career in 1955 when he commenced employment with the Canadian Pacific Railroad (CPR) Police. In 1958, he joined the St. Boniface Police Force and worked out of the basement offices of the Town Hall building at 219 Provencher Blvd. He was later promoted to Patrol Sergeant. Following the amalgamation of all the suburban departments in 1974, Jack transferred over and became a member of the Winnipeg Police Department.
Jack was named to the historical committee in 1974 and was involved with the formation of the Winnipeg Police Museum and Historical Society as became incorporated in 1986.
Initially, Jack set up a small one-room museum in the training academy inside Van Belleghen School at 10 Vermillion Rd. When the training academy moved to Allard School at 130 Allard Avenue, Jack set up a much larger museum in the basement and officially took on the role of curator.
In January 1994, Jack retired after 38 years of service and remained as curator and historian of the Museum. In 1999, Jack authored a history book about the Winnipeg Police Service title From Force to Service in celebration of the Service’s 125th anniversary.
Jack continued to serve as curator for many years and was directly involved in planning the current Police Museum which opened in Police Headquarters in July 2016. In 2017, Jack retired as the curator and remained the Museum’s Historian.
Stanley Scarr
Retired Deputy Chief Stan SCARR became both a Director and the first President when the Museum incorporated on May 2, 1986, and remained as President, serving in this role continuously for 32 years until January 2018 when he stepped down due to health reasons. Stan still remained on the Board as a Director until his death in 2018.
Stan joined the Winnipeg Police Force in 1953 and always had a strong sense of duty and commitment which was quite evident as he steadily rose through the Police ranks, culminating with his promotion to Deputy Chief in 1981. After a lengthy battle with Cancer, Stan passed away on October 10, 2018 at the age of 87 years. He will always be remembered as a proud supporter of the Winnipeg Police Museum.
Albert Apostle
As one of the founding members and first directors of the board, retired Patrol Sergeant Albert APOSTLE remained on the Board for 31 years as both a Director, and for a time the Vice President. In January of 2017, Albert stepped down due to health issues.
In September 1962, Albert joined the Winnipeg Police Department as a Constable. Albert was later promoted to Patrol Sergeant and spent much of his career working out of the Traffic Division, an area that was always important to him. During this time Albert also became involved with the Police Museum, and worked on many projects including the restoration of the widely recognized REO Patrol Wagon. Albert eventually retired from policing in August 2000 after 37 years of service.
After a lengthy battle with Cancer, Albert passed away in July 2017 . Amongst his friends, Albert will always be remembered as a gentle giant who was kind, decent and loyal to a fault, and who supported the Museum during his long career.
Lawrence Mazur
Lawrence Mazur began his career in policing with the St. James Assiniboia Police Department in June 1969 as a dispatcher. Following the amalgamation of the Police Forces in 1974, Lawrence continued his career at Public Safety Building on Princess Street where he was promoted within the Communications Division and went on to become a Systems and Procedures Analyst.
The last position he took on was setting up and organizing the centralized Evidence Control Unit. Lawrence retired in 2004.
Lawrence served on the Museum’s board as a director and later as treasurer from 1986 until his passing in 2009.
Thank you for building a strong foundation which continues to help us grow. Your time and dedication will always be appreciated.