5216 x 3536 px | 44,2 x 29,9 cm | 17,4 x 11,8 inches | 300dpi
Date de la prise de vue:
18 mars 2010
Lieu:
Piccadilly, London, England UK
Informations supplémentaires:
A police box is a British telephone kiosk or callbox located in a public place for the use of members of the police, or for members of the public to contact the police. Unlike an ordinary callbox, its telephone is located behind a hinged door so it can be used from the outside, and the interior of the box is, in effect, a miniature police station for use by police officers. Police boxes predate the era of mobile telecommunications; now British police officers carry two-way radios and/or mobile phones rather than relying on fixed kiosks. Most boxes are now disused or have been withdrawn from service. The typical police box contained a telephone linked directly to the local police station, allowing patrolling officers to keep in contact with the station, reporting anything unusual or requesting help if necessary. A light on top of the box would flash to alert an officer that he/she was requested to contact the station.[2]:2 Members of the public could also use the phone to contact a police station in an emergency. British police boxes were usually blue, except in Glasgow, where they were red until the late 1960s.:13 In addition to a telephone, they contained equipment such as an incident book and a first aid kit.:14 Today the image of the blue police box is widely associated with the science fiction television programme Doctor Who, in which the protagonist's time machine, a TARDIS, is in the shape of a 1960s British police box. In the context of a TARDIS, the image of the blue police box is a trademark of the BBC.
