Can the Tardis help fight crime?

A political "think tank" certainly believes so. Although admittedly they've got the original police phone boxes that inspired the Doctor Who design in mind...

A report by the Policy Exchange has suggested that the police box should make a comeback more than 40 years after they were taken off Britain's streets. The original boxes allowed policemen and members of the public to make direct contact with their local police station using a phone, and also contained a desk, a stool and a first aid kit - but they became redundant in the 1960s when the police force started using walkie-talkies.

While the think tank's Tardis-style police boxes won't actually need the time-travelling capabilities of Matt Smith's spaceship, these proposed police boxes could have more in common with the blue craft than their predecessors, with "two-way audio-visual technology" and "technologically enabled police contact points".

The new blue boxes would be located in busy areas and be a place for the public to report crime and anti-social behavior, as well as make witness statements. Max Chambers from Policy Exchange said: "A new, modern version of the Tardis police box might not be able to travel through time, but it would certainly bring the police into the future, allowing us to close outdated and expensive police stations, increase public access to the police and offer a more convenient service to the public.”