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POP CULTURE AND CRIME MIX IN D.C.

May 22, 2008 12:15 am

By SHEILA WICKOUSKI

FOR THE FREE LANCE-STAR

The National Museum of Crime and Punishment shows us just how chilling--and thrilling--the history and science of crime and punishment can be.

This walk through the history of crime starts with medieval torture devices, part of the European heritage. Gunslingers of the old American West and Prohibition-era gangsters come next, followed by today's computer criminals.

Relics of punishment--starting with guillotines and Colonial pillories--merge into modern gas chambers and the electric chair.

Time has not withered crime's dark appeal--even as technology has given the criminal mind and its pursuers an infinite variety of new methods. Hands-on exhibits offer opportunities to explore skills, from a shooting gallery to a computer-hacking simulation.

The law gets equal time, with a chance to experiment with digital fingerprinting technology, as well as a police academy training video of a high-speed chase.

For those who have never been through the penal system, there is a gallery that leads from a crime-riddled alley through the police booking, on to the lineup and the police interrogation (including lie-detector tests) and finally to a jail cell.

The simulation of a crime-scene investigation, starting with Apartment 13, where a murder has occurred, through the crime lab, is as close to real life as one can get. All the tools of modern science are here: fingerprint recovery, DNA testing, dental identification and facial reconstruction along with autopsy results, different crime photography techniques and interview methods--giving the viewer all the information needed to match wits with both the murderer and the police detectives.

If this sounds like either too much fun or too dreary a subject, it is both. From the extremes of the anguish of Dostoevsky's "Crime and Punishment" to the cheerful Gilbert and Sullivan chorus of "Let the punishment fit the crime," these two themes have been eternally bound together in the human mind. Edgar Allan Poe's invention of the crime novel--a form which entertains billions--was based on a horrific murder ripped from the headlines.

If the museum's theme seems unreal, think about Hollywood crime movies. The NMCP weaves material from those flicks throughout--from videos that compare the real story with the film clip, to displays of cinematic icons such as the death car used in the filming of "Bonnie and Clyde."

There is even a wall of favorite movie posters, and a wall of mug shots from actual police files that include a few noted movie celebrities.

Besides collector items that any museum would love to have--such as John Dillenger's pricey Essex Terraplane 8 displayed in the entrance hall--there are curiosity pieces of dubious value except for their association with famous criminals.

Neither Albert de Salvo (the Boston Strangler), who made women's jewelry, nor Charles Manson, who did pencil sketches, would have made a name for himself as an artist.

The NMCP is, interestingly, located a short walk from the Justice Department and the FBI (which has indefinitely discontinued its famous tour). While the vast amount of material in the official repository of justice is unlikely to ever be made public, the accessibility of this unique museum makes it a top spot for a unique experience.

Sheila Wickouski is a former resident of the Fredericksburg region now living in Washington.