a police box is a public telephone kiosk or callbox for the use of members of the police, or for members of the public to contact the police. it was used in the united kingdom throughout the 20th century from the early 1920s. unlike an ordinary callbox, its telephone was located behind a hinged door so it could be used from the outside, and the interior of the box was, in effect, a miniature police station for use by police officers to read and fill in reports, take meal breaks and even temporarily hold detainees until the arrival of transport.