A police box is a telephone kiosk or callbox for use by members of the police. Police boxes pre-date the era of modern telecommunications; today, every police officer (in technologically developed countries) is likely to carry a two-way radio. The typical police box contained a telephone linked directly to the local police station allowing officers "on the beat" to keep in contact with the station, reporting anything unusual, requesting help if necessary or even to detain prisoners until a vehicle could be sent to transport them to the station or to jail. This was in the day when most police officers walked a beat or rode a bicycle rather than using a police car. An electric light on top of the box would flash to alert a beat officer that he was requested to contact the station. Members of the public could also use the phone (which was on the exterior) to contact a police station in an emergency. The telephone or phone (Greek: tele = far away and phone = voice) is a telecommunications device which is used to transmit and receive sound (most commonly voice and speech) across distance. ... A call box or callbox is a (usually metal) box containing a special-purpose direct line telephone or other telecommunications device, which has been used by various industries and institutions as a way for employees or clients at a remote location to contact a central dispatch office. ... BlackBerry 7100t Telecommunication refers to the communication of information at a distance. ... Beating is striking more than once, in violence, beating a drum, etc. ... A police car, police cruiser, squad car, or patrol car is a vehicle used by police forces around the world to patrol, temporarily detain and transport individual criminal suspects. ...

19th century American police call box.

British police boxes were usually blue. In addition to a telephone they contained essential equipment such as an incident book and a first aid kit. The trademark to the British design of the police box is currently held by the British Broadcasting Corporation, due to its association with the science fiction television series Doctor Who. In the programme, the main character's time machine (the TARDIS) is in the shape of a 1950s-era British police box. This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... An incident book is a book used for recording injuries, crimes, and other incidents; they are included in British police boxes, hospitals, and other locations in which an incident is to be reported or treated. ... First aid is a series of simple, life-saving medical techniques that a non-doctor or layman can be trained to perform. ... This article is an overview article about the Crown chartered British Broadcasting Corporation formed in 1927. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... Doctor Who is a long-running British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC about a mysterious time-travelling adventurer known only as The Doctor. It is also the title of a 1996 television movie featuring the same character. ... Time travel is a concept that has long fascinated humanity—whether it is Merlin experiencing time backwards, or religious traditions like Mohammeds trip to Jerusalem and ascent to heaven, returning before a glass knocked over had spilt its contents. ... The Third Doctor emerging from the TARDIS (from the 1970 serial Spearhead from Space). ... // Events and No. ...

In Britain, police call boxes first began appearing in the 1880s. These were direct line telephones placed on a post which could often be accessed by a key or breaking a glass. These call boxes were adopted and widely used in the United States (see picture, left). // Events and Trends Technology Development and commercial production of electric lighting Development and commercial production of gasoline-powered automobile by Karl Benz, Gottlieb Daimler and Maybach First commercial production and sales of phonographs and phonograph recordings. ...

The first "modern" British police boxes in the form of kiosks or booths (see picture, right) were introduced in the mid-1920s and were in wide use by the mid-1930s. The interiors of these boxes normally contained, for the use of officers; a stool, a table, brushes and dusters, a fire extinguisher and a small electric heater. The earliest boxes were made of wood, and later ones of concrete, which officers complained were still extremely cold. They played an important part in police work until the mid-1960s, when they were phased out following the introduction of personal radios. As the main function of this box was superseded by the rise of portable telecommunications like the walkie-talkie and the cell phone, there are very few police boxes left in Britain today. Some of those remaining, like in Edinburgh, have been converted into high street coffee bars. The 1920s were a decade sometimes referred to as the Jazz Age or the Roaring Twenties, usually applied to America. ... // Events and trends A public speech by Benito Mussolini, founder of the Fascist movement The 1930s were described as an abrupt shift to more radical lifestyles, as countries were struggling to find a solution to the global depression. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from 1960 to 1969, inclusive. ... A walkie-talkie is a portable, bi-directional radio transceiver, first developed for military use. ... Motorola T2288 mobile phone A mobile phone is a portable electronic device which behaves as a normal telephone whilst being able to move over a wide area (compare cordless phone which acts as a telephone only within a limited range). ... Edinburgh (pronounced ), Dùn Èideann () in Scottish Gaelic, is the second-largest city in Scotland and its capital city. ... Ilfracombe High Street, Devon, England High Street, or the High Street is the generic name (and frequently the official name) of the business street of towns or cities in the United Kingdom . ...

This Edinburgh police box now serves as a coffee shop.

Police Call Box (non-working) still to be seen at St Martins Le Grand London

In 1994, the Strathclyde Police decided to scrap the remaining police boxes on the streets of Glasgow. However, due to the intervention of a private preservation trust, together with the Glasgow Building Preservation Trust, the police box remains today a part of Glasgow's architectural heritage. At least four remain — on Great Western Rd (at the corner of Byres Rd), Buchanan St, Wilson St (painted red, however) and near the corner of Cathedral Square. The police boxes in Glasgow on Great Western Road, Cathedral Square and Buchannan Street are currently under licence to a Glasgow-based coffee outlet. However, at present, only the Great Western Road box has been transformed to dispense beverages, and restrictions are enforced by the Glasgow Building Preservation Trust and the Doctor Who Society to prevent the exterior of the boxes from being modified beyond the trademarked design. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1280x960, 480 KB)A police box that has been converted into a coffee bar. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1280x960, 480 KB)A police box that has been converted into a coffee bar. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (461x640, 90 KB)Phototaken by Lonpicman File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (461x640, 90 KB)Phototaken by Lonpicman File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... 1994 (MCMXCIV in Roman) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International year of the Family. ... Strathclyde (Srath Chluaidh in Gaelic) was one of the regional council areas of Scotland from 1975 to 1996. ... Glasgow (or Glaschu in Gaelic) is Scotlands largest city and unitary authority area, situated on the River Clyde in the countrys west central lowlands. ... Buchanan Street is one of the main shopping throughfares in Glasgow, the largest city in Scotland. ...

Police box located outside Earl's Court tube station in London.

In 1997, a replica police box/TARDIS was erected outside the Earl's Court tube station in London, equipped with CCTV cameras and a telephone to contact police. The telephone ceased to function in April 2000 when London's area codes were changed, but the box has remained despite the fact that funding for its upkeep and maintenance had long since dried up. In March 2005, the Metropolitan Police resumed funding the refurbishment and maintenance of the box. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (600x800, 82 KB) Summary Police box/TARDIS replica located outside Earls Court tube station in London. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (600x800, 82 KB) Summary Police box/TARDIS replica located outside Earls Court tube station in London. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII in Roman) is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Earls Court tube station is a London Underground station in Earls Court. ... The two-year-old Jamie Bulger being led away by his killers, recorded on shopping centre CCTV. Closed-circuit television (CCTV), as a collection of surveillance cameras doing video surveillance, is the use of television cameras for surveillance. ... The UK telephone numbering plan, also known as the National Numbering Plan, is regulated by the Office of Communications (Ofcom), which replaced the Office of Telecommunications (Oftel) in 2003. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Standard of the Metropolitan Police The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) (commonly referred to by its former official name of the Metropolitan Police, or colloquially as The Met; often referred to in legislation as the Police of the Metropolis) is the Home Office (territorial) police force responsible for Greater London...

Glasgow introduced a new design "police box" in 2005. The new police boxes are not booths but computerised kiosks, which connect the caller to a police CCTV control room operator. They stand at ten feet in height with a chrome finish and act as a 24-hour information point, with three screens providing information on crime prevention, police force recruitment and even tourist information.
2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The two-year-old Jamie Bulger being led away by his killers, recorded on shopping centre CCTV. Closed-circuit television (CCTV), as a collection of surveillance cameras doing video surveillance, is the use of television cameras for surveillance. ...

See also

• Koban (police box) - Japanese Police box
• Red telephone box

This koban is a landmark in the Ginza district of Tokyo A kōban (交番) is a Japanese police box. ... K2 red telephone boxes behind Enzo Plazzottas bronze, Young Dancer, on Broad Street, Covent Garden, London A K6 red telephone box in Oxford The red telephone box, a public telephone kiosk designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, was a once familiar sight on the streets of the United Kingdom. ...

External links

• Metropolitan Police - History of the police box
• The TARDIS Library - A guide to the various props used over the years, and their relationship to real police boxes
• The Police Box page - from Ian McPherson's Kiosk Korner
• The Police Signal Box: A 100 Year History - 1994 paper by Robert W. Stewart (PDF format)
• The Great Edinburgh TARDIS Quest - Flickr set devoted to tracking down remaining Edinburgh police boxes.
• It's a new police Tardis... and it's made of chrome! - An article on the new Glasgow police boxes.