What is police call boxes?

Police call boxes are structures that were used to communicate with law enforcement officers before the widespread use of mobile phones. They typically consist of a metal box with a telephone, with buttons or a crank to connect the caller to the police department. Police call boxes were widespread in the United States and the United Kingdom from the late 19th century until the late 20th century. They were often placed in strategic locations, such as street corners, in densely populated urban areas, and were intended to provide a safe and reliable means of quickly contacting the police in emergencies. With the advent of mobile phones, however, the use of police call boxes has greatly declined, and many have been removed or repurposed.