The museum's collection features typical objects used by civil police officers in the past, such as different types of weapons, and preserved documents and photos about the history of the organization. All of the instruments presented are focused on further study of police investigations and crimes that have affected Brazil. Famous cases such as the Suitcase Crime,
Chico Picadinho and the
Park Maniac also feature in the site's collection, which has approximately 3,000 items - including old vehicles, drug exhibits, pieces from traffic accidents, fires, gun deaths, gambling machines, lie detectors, among others - that constitute the criminalistics and criminology archive.
The Suitcase Crime One of the main pieces in the collection is the original trunk used in the Suitcase Crime, a case that covered several Brazilian newspapers in 1928. On October 5, a trunk-shaped suitcase was found in the
Port of Santos covered in blood with a mutilated female body inside; consequently, the case became known as the "
Crime da Mala" (
English: "Crime of the Suitcase"). At the time, Italian immigrant Giusepe Pistone was planning a scam on his distant relative, a wine businessman in São Paulo. His wife, Argentinian Maria Féa, was suspicious of him, as he had been convicted of embezzlement, and decided to write to her mother about her Pistone's possible intentions. When he found the letter, he decided to suffocate Maria Féa, who was pregnant, on October 4 in order to avoid prosecution. Police investigators found her body dismembered by a knife and covered in rice powder to avoid the smell. In 1944, after being sentenced to 31 years in prison, Giuseppe Pistone was released with a pardon granted by President Getúlio Vargas. At the Civil Police Museum of the State of São Paulo, this story is narrated and told by police officer Eduardo Pretel, the site's visitors' monitor. The story of Francisco's disorders, commonly known as Chico Picadinho, began at the age of eight during his childhood in
Espírito Santo, more precisely in
Cariacica. Around 1942, Chico's mother started working as a call girl, and he began to be sexually abused as a child, constantly visiting brothels and using amphetamines. Faced with this situation and affected by so many mental disorders, Francisco planned the perfect scenario to commit the crimes he wanted. His first victim was Margareth Suida, whose death was violent and resulted in Chico Picadinho being tried and sentenced to eighteen years for his actions. As soon as the bodies were discovered by the police, the case became public. Survivors began to appear to assist in the search for the killer, contributing to the creation of a sketch and, later, the identification of the criminal, who was arrested just 23 days after his discovery and confessed to the murder of 15 women between 1995 and 1998. The case of the Park Maniac drew attention to cases of serial killers with psychological disorders. Sexually abused by an aunt and forced to have homosexual relations with one of his bosses, Francisco developed disorders that eventually affected his behavior and created a "breast fixation" and impulses that he considered uncontrollable. As a result, the necessity to understand more about the profile and background of the criminals became clear to the São Paulo and Brazilian police.
Drugs The museum provides an area for visitors to access information on the harmful effects of different types of licit and illicit drugs, such as
marijuana,
cocaine,
crack and other types of narcotics. As a didactic approach, the self-explanatory panels simultaneously present the drugs commonly found in users' daily lives and relevant characteristics about each substance. The fact that the museum deals with the subject of "drugs" is considered an attraction and object of study for students, since this topic is usually the subject of assignments required by educators from Acadepol's training and courses, as well as law professors. == Architecture ==