A Police Public Call Box, on a London street on a snowy day. The Metropolitan Police introduced police boxes throughout the London area between 1928 and 1937. The one pictured is a Mackenzie Trench style police box, made famous by the long-running TV series, Doctor Who. The boxes were installed so that members of the public could make emergency calls to the police, but many boxes are now disused or have been withdrawn from service because of the prevalence of the mobile phone.