In the special exhibition “Marias and Mörkös”, vehicles on display include the world’s fastest police motorcycle and police cars from various decades.
The police move on land, in water and in the air – in little streets in cities, on the roads, in the fells and in waterways. In the Police Museum’s new special exhibition, “Marias and Mörkös – Police Vehicles On and Off the Road”, visitors can see police cars, motorcycles, scooters, snow scooters and all-terrain vehicles.
“For example, our exhibition includes the Saab 99 car, familiar for many, but also more rarely seen police vehicles, such as the world’s fastest police motorcycle, Kawasaki Ninja H2 SX. The oldest vehicle on display at the exhibition is a 1962 model Renault Goélette that was formerly used by Tampere police and that eventually ended up in TV2 children’s program ‘Pelle Hermanni’,” says Police Museum Curator Juha Vitikainen.
“The patrol van ‘Maria’, mentioned in the name of the special exhibition, will also be on display, and museum visitors can take a seat in it. The other vehicle mentioned in the name of the exhibition, ‘Mörkö’, is not on site in the museum, but we present it in words and pictures. ‘Mörkö’ is the nickname for crowd control police forces’ dark personnel carrier van with protective covering.”
Police fleet and traffic safety
The Finnish Police received the first cars already in the early 1900s, but it was not until the 1960s that cars became so common that by the end of the decade, each police district had at least one police car. However, some police officers could still use their own car, or even a taxi to carry out official duties.
Motoring citizens kept the police busy, and the number of traffic accidents was high.
“In the 1960s, the police had their hands full with shepherding of speeding citizens, as many appreciated an efficient engine more than traffic safety. With the help of general collections and car donations, the police managed to obtain more vehicles and thus make traffic control more efficient. Of course, legislative measures were necessary as well, including speed limits and compulsory use of seat belts, in order to improve road safety,” says Police Museum Curator Maritta Jokiniemi.
These days, police patrol cars are like offices on wheels, equipped with computers, network connections, radars and camera equipment.
“The cars also have a system developed in Finland, through which police patrols receive notification from a Revika device, that reads license plates, if the oncoming car has not been inspected, the vehicle tax or insurance has not been paid or the vehicle is being searched,” says Jokiniemi.
History and present day
At the Police Museum’s “Marias and Mörkös” exhibition, museum visitors get information both of the history and current situation of police vehicles. These days, police fleet includes armored vehicles, cars equipped for crime scene investigation, snow scooters, personal watercraft and unmanned aerial vehicles.
“In the exhibition, we also inform about driver training of the police and its development. At all times, not only a vehicle suitable for the work assignment, but also a professional driver behind the wheel is needed,” remind Jokiniemi and Vitikainen.
The Police Museum in Tampere is open to all, free of charge. The Marias and Mörkös special exhibition is suitable for museum visitors of all ages.
“Welcome to admire great sets of wheels and explore the interesting history of police vehicles. In our children’s section, there is a wide range of activities for the youngest members of the family: for example, children can wear police overalls and put themselves in a police officer’s boots in various policing assignments.”
The texts of all Police Museum exhibitions are available in Finnish, Swedish and English.
The “Marias and Mörkös” exhibition is open from 26 April 2024 to 4 December 2027.
