Wm. B. Kolender Sheriff’s Museum

I’ve walked by this museum a bunch of times when I have been visiting San Diego. However, we usually have our dog with us (in his stroller) because we are traveling, so we never went in.
We finally ended up staying in San Diego for a couple of nights, so we thought it might be worth it to pop into the museum without our fur kid. Admission is free, but a donation is recommended.
This museum is fun for adults or kids (probably elementary age and up). There are some neat interactive exhibits and great photo opportunities.
It would budget to spend about 45 – 90 minutes at this museum. It’s located in Old Town, so you could combine this with a visit to one of the delicious Mexican restaurants and the historic park.

This was a cute little museum. My husband and I had a great time. They have a lot of really cool exhibits and cars there. It is definitely worth stopping by. They ask for donations but its a free museum and a great way to spend a few hours. I can’t wait till our little guy is big enough to know what cops are to take him there.

My wife and I celebrated our anniversary in San Diego, so we came upon this little gem walking Old Town. We thought, eh, why not. I must say, we had the most fun here than anywhere else lol everything is hands-​on, we felt like little kids again. The gentleman who walks around talking about the museum was very friendly and informative. We must have stayed there over an hour or two, playing around and taking pictures everywhere. It was pretty dead, so it felt like we had the place all to ourselves. We had lots of fun, and I’m sure the kiddos would like it here as well.

Fantastic display of the various duties of the Sheriff Department, interesting for all ages. Helena in the gift shop is an amazing woman. Looked after all of the guest like family. I enjoyed my visit and had a good laugh taking my own booking photo.

We stumbled in to this place and had a great time. The kids had a blast on/​in the helicopter, car, & motorcycles. The jail cell was also a hit.

An excellent museum, and free, to boot !!
This two-​story, 6800 square foot building exhibits the history of the San Diego Sheriff’s office from about 1850 to modern times. As locals know, Bill Kolender is a former San Diego City Chief of Police and is now a retired San Diego County Sheriff.
This is a fascinating museum, and is well-​documented with Unilocaler’s photos. My favorite exhibit was the Counterfeit Money exhibit. Scary ! Also, there is a beautiful display of various law enforcement badges to admire. Or fear.
The firearms exhibit is comprehensive and therefore awesome.
WAIT !! Is that a Sheriff’s chopper over there? Yep, a Vietnam era «Loach». Nicely displayed.
Yes, a real Sheriff’s cruiser is in here, too, but not a modern one, and a newish motorcycle with working red lights. Kids love it. Heck, I loved it!
This is not merely a museum for tourists. Locals can enjoy and appreciate the long (and sometimes, um, colorful) history of the County Sheriff”s Department far more than the average tourist can.
It’s free, but leave a donation. This place is well worth it !

kleines, nettes Museum. Kein Eintritt, nur durch Spenden finanziert.
Wir wussten nicht was uns erwartet, und hatten auch nicht viel erwartet, aber das kleine Sheriff Museum war ein kleines Highlight unserer Reise durch San Diego. Es ist eben nicht touristisch aufbereitet wie der Rest von Old Town und es hat seinen eigenen Charm. Es ist nicht sonderlich groß und die Besichtigung dauert nicht viel länger als 1 Stunde. Trotzdem ist es auf meine Top10 MUSTS in San Diego.

What an EXCELLENT museum!!! Not only is the contents good but the guy who owns this, the tour guide. He is sooooo full of information and you can tell he cares about his «life» as a former sheriff.
The items in this museum are unbelievable and very unique… I can’t put it in words how caring and friendly these owners are.
I would HIGHLY suggest this museum!!!

We had such a fun time at the museum. Love how interactive all the exhibits are. If you like taking «selfies,» this is the place for you. So many opportunities for fun pictures.

Wow!!! This place is so much fun. Full of hands on displays. The personnel that run this museum are so informative and helpful, they will even take pictures for you. We recently stayed two nights in Old Town and visited. I myself am an officer with LADWP and found this place to have everything law enforcement related. Love and highly recommend a visit for kids and adults… The gift shop is very reasonably priced and stocked with goodies… You won’t be disappointed!!!

CUFF ME!!!
BACKGROUND:
The William B. Kolender Sheriff’s Museum in Old Town, San Diego preserves and promotes the history of the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department for the enlightenment and education of visitors of all ages.
STATS:
It’s free, but they won’t turn away donations
Hours: 11 am to 6 pm, Wednesday — Sunday
Located on the opposite end of Old Town San Diego
Informative, courteous, and quite humorous volunteers run the joint
Some stair climbing
Elevator available
ESSENTIALS:
Interest in police and crime history
EXPERIENCE:
After checking out El Campo Santo Cemetery this museum was just steps away. Stepping onto the property, classic police vehicles are displayed, as well as a helicopter. Once inside there is a gift shop filled will souvenirs.
Opposite the gift shop is where the police and the criminal timeline begins with a staged old-​style jails and briefing rooms on display. Around the corner display cases of police uniforms and items confiscated from criminals. The sound of dispatch calls over the PA are heard as you make your way through the room. Dated dispatch and radio equipment are displayed as well as old photographs on the walls of Police Officers and Criminals.
The second floor is all about Search & Rescue, and honoring those who served and protected in various other special units, such as S.W.A.T. and K-​9. Walls covered with pictures of decorated service personnel, and display cases of badges through the years,
Another place I’d like to make a return visit to someday.

This is a really fun museum! We’ve only been here a few times, but we made sure to schedule our last visit to Old Town around the times we knew this place would be open (it’s open Wednesday — Sunday from 11:00 to 6:00).
The people who work here are really nice, and there are so many unique things packed into this small museum. The first time we came here, one of the volunteers showed around this cool museum and gave us some useful info about the history of San Diego’s Sheriff Department. My son got to see inside of a jail cell and even got to pose in it’s doorway! He also got to sit on the motorcycle and got to pose in front of the «Arrest of the Month» sign. All of these things were fun experiences for my son and gave me ample opportunity to take tons of interesting photos!
On our last visit, my husband finally got the chance to go. He really enjoyed looking at all those antique weapons and other cool sheriff’s equipment. The old cars were fun to see and are always parked out in front of the museum. There’s also a display area focused on our K-​9 Unit. Theses special canines are lovingly shown here. There other departments of focus here too: Search and Rescue, Narcotics, and S.W.A.T. There is also a room dedicated to each of the Deputy Sheriffs in San Diego history (and includes the current Sheriff, William D. Gore). The most poignant room is the Honor Room («Never Forget»).
This is a wonderful look at the history of the San Diego Sheriff’s Department and is enjoyable for adults and children alike. The museum is free (but donations are greatly appreciated!), and exhibits are interesting. The staff is really friendly and knowledgeable. This is a fun (and educational) experience for the whole family!

Cool place. Cool staff.
We just happened upon it while strolling through Old Town. It was fun. Good times for all ages.
For just a few dollars voluntary donation you can meet some funny people & learn a little about the sheriffs department.
A lot of photo ops too.

If it’s free, it’s for me. We also spent an hour here taking photos and reading like a previous helper said. It was exciting for me. Best part of Old Town San Diego. My son had a blast touching things and getting into the helicopter, cars, and on motorcycles. So 1970s and 1980s. Reminded me of Chips and Erik Estrada.

Cute and fun. Both my niece and nephew LOVED it. I was kinda surprised as my expectations were not exactly at Six Flags Level if ya know what I mean. But its a nice stop for the munchkins and the price is right — f r double e

We spent a good hour or more slowly taking in this place. You don’ t have to be in law enforcement to appreciate what a labour of love this tribute museum is.
We had such fun with it. If I was running the place, I would set it up to do official mug shots and sell them to people… but that is my fundraising/​marketing side speaking.
I think the most fun for the kids was sitting on the police motorcycle. I got a serious laugh out of the display of «policing tools» through history. I can tell you the bat criminals got hit with in 1879 was a pretty serious unit — and the cuffs looked darned uncomfortable. I say bring ‘em back into use. Cuffs like that would be a crime prevention measure!
NOTE: They only open on days when they can get volunteers in to staff the place, so make sure you check before you go if your schedule is tight

Great place and a yearly stop when on vacation with the kids.
My reviews and pictures are on the link below.

This is a totally dinky little museum in Old Town. It occupies a few rooms, has a bit of a musty smell, and has a room with plenty of the grotesque drunk driving posters taped to a wall. With that said, kids love it! I came here with a 4 year old and a 6 year old and they wanted to return the next time we went to Old Town. Kids get those free Scruff McGruff coloring books, they can see a recreation of a jail cell, and an older (albeit 1989) cop car. I think it would be great if this place was a little more interactive, but I guess this place is A-​OK.

I never knew this place existed until last month. I went a long with my son for the 4^th grade field trip to Old Town and this is one of the many places we visited. I’m a lifelong resident of San Diego and a big fan of Old Town and I was surprised to find so many places there that I never knew about.
Since the kids had the day off from school, we went there today. The Sheriff’s Museum has some very cool displays. There are weapons made by prisoners, guns and rifles, handcuffs, radio equipment, etc… There was a jail cell complete with bunks and a toilet. I told my kids, See that? If you ever end up in jail that’s where you’ll sleep and you’ll have to do your bathroom business in front of everyone. No TV or dvd players either. They didn’t seem to like that, so I’m hoping that scared any ideas of a life of crime out of them. There was a police motorcycle. The kids got to sit on it with the lights on. The museum is free, but they accept donations. The hours are from 10AM-​4PM. It’s closed Sunday and Monday.