It opened on October 13, 2018, and covers American law enforcement through interactive exhibits, historical and contemporary artifact collections, with a dedicated space for research and educational programming.

It is a mostly-underground facility located adjacent to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C.'s Judiciary Square near several district and federal courthouses.

[1] On October 14, 2010, Attorney General Eric Holder, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and others broke ground on the construction of the museum.

[1] On February 28, 2014, Rep. Steny Hoyer introduced the bill To amend the National Law Enforcement Museum Act to extend the termination date (H.R.

[5][6] After the default, there have been no repayments made by the museum, and the outstanding debt is still reflected on their latest financial statement from 2020.

In particular, the museum's exhibit about the 2014 shooting of Michael Brown was characterized as a "missed educational opportunity" to mention the ensuing protests or "continuing problem of police violence in black communities".