In message , at 22:22:37 on Mon,
15 Jun 2009, rail remarked:
Did the Victorian police really have access to phones? I'd have
thought it would still be fairly rare in Edwardian times.

The first police phone boxes were in Glasgow in 1891, then Sunderland in
1923, Newcastle in 1925 and London 1928

They were phased out after the introduction of personal radios in the 1970s
though one is still in use in Newtown Linford.

And not forgetting another one that Dr Who uses

Of course, the original reason that a Police Box was chosen as his
"disguise" in the original 1960's episode was that it could land almost
anywhere in London and not look out of place...

And getting back to the original theme of "reporting in", the police
boxes were 2-way, with the flashing blue light indicating that an
officer should call the police station and see what was wanted.
--
Roland Perry