How did police officers communicate before radios?
There were a lot more officers on foot patrols. Here in Scotland there was a network of Police Boxes, a metal shed with a small heater, a phone, a journal to record events and a device outside that alerted the patrolling constable that a call was waiting. Each officer carried a whistle, the Thunderer, which was how he called for help. Females rarely patrolled alone on foot. In Dundee in 1976, when I joined, this system was still in use as well as basic but rubbish two way radios. The Panda Cars had better, but limited radios. At that time a lot of of the areas had foot patrols, particularly the City Centre, where there were up to8 or 9 dedicated Beats. On Night Shift you were required to check every commercial property, on foot, back and front and if possible from above. At that time each beat had a Beat Book which detailed each premises and who held the keys. This was updated every 3 months, on foot. I was armed with a baton, a whistle and a very ancient pair of handcuffs.
