On January 25, 1952, at the height of tensions between Egyptians and their British overseers, who had ruled or administered the country for 70 years, Brig. Kenneth Exham ordered police officers in Ismailia to hand over their weapons and vacate the city’s two police stations. When the officers disobeyed the order, a massacre ensued, leaving 50 dead and 80 wounded. The event became the spark that ignited the revolution bringing an end to the monarchy on July 23 that same year.

In recognition of the role the police played in Egypt's independence, the new Free Officer's government declared January 25 National Police Day and a holiday. In the decades since, however, and especially under the 30-year rule of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak from 1981-2011, the image of the police as protectors of the nation also became associated with suppression and corruption. The popular uprising which led to the overthrow of Mubarak began on January 25, 2011 – and so Police Day, and the anniversary of the January 25 revolution, became fused in an ironic way.

The volatile history of the Egyptian police can be observed, at least in part, at the National Police Museum in Cairo’s Citadel. The building housing the museum dates to the Mamluk era, and accordingly a statue of a lion, a Mamluk symbol, stands in the large courtyard at the entry.