Some places of entertainment have a policy of searching patrons before they are allowed to enter. At a night-club, for example a security operative will search customers to make sure they are not holding small supplies of drugs. Any drugs found are confiscated. There is a need to provide some means by which the confiscated drugs may be retained until they can be collected by the authorities such as the Police. This need will become more acute under new legislation. It is one object of this invention to satisfy that need.

In one aspect the invention provides a container securable to a wall or like support, the container having a lid which is openable for the introduction of suspicious items, e. g. unlawful substances, into the interior of the container, and a separate door having at least two independent locks which can be released to allow access to the interior of the container.

In use, the security operative will deposit the substances in the container. When the Police are called (either to empty the container of an individual item, or as part of the routine visit) an authorised member of staff must be present to unlock one lock and the Police to unlock the second lock so that the contents can be removed from the container. This twofold arrangement reduces the risk that staff will take confiscated drugs, to re-sell them and remove the risk of staff being put under duress to return the seized substances.

It is, of course, known to install a nightsafe at a bank, for the voluntary deposit of cash or banknotes, in such a way that they cannot be retrieved, the safe having a lock for bank staff to lawfully recover the deposited money. Such a safe has a single lock. The presence of two locks in apparatus of the invention avoids staff being placed under duress to return any seized items, removes the temptation for such staff to trade in such seized items, and involves the Police who can derive intelligence useful to them from the items seized.

In order that the invention may be well understood it will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings in which : Figure 1 is a side elevation partly in section of one box of the invention; Figure 2 is an elevation taken on lines l-ll on figure 1 showing one half only; Figure 3A, 3B and 3C are respectively a front elevation, a side elevation in section and a cross elevation in section of another embodiment of the invention.

The apparatus comprises a box 1 having a trap or flap lid 2 on the top face 3 and a plate door or cover 4 on its front face 5. The box is made of welded 3 mm steel plate and is too heavy to be run off with; it is secured by bolts (not shown) to a vertical wall or may be a shelf, e. g. a counter. In one example the box measures 260 mm wide x 270 mm deep x 210 mm high, and weighs about 13.5 kg. The lid 3 is adapted to pivot about a hinge rod 6 and has a lower shovel shape body 7 so that the lid cannot be lifted out of the recess 8 in which it resides. The parts are dimensioned and shaped so that when the lid is in the raised condition, it is not possible to insert one's fingers or a tool between the edge of the trap and the facing wall of the recess to remove contents from the interior of the box.

The door 4 comprises a plate 9 which covers all or substantially all of the full front face 5 of the box apart from a small peripheral margin. An open rectangular frame 10 is mounted on the rear of the plate and is shaped to fit in the recess 11 of the front face 5 of the box. Two pegs 12 extend from the bottom of the frame into holes 13 in the lower wall 14. Two latch arms 15 are pivotally mounted on the plate, and extend through slots 16 in the vertical side walls 17 of the frame into slots 18 in the side of the recess. The arms 15 are connected to locks 19 at the front face of the plate. The locks are preferably ten pin anti-drill centered. The locks 19 are different and arranged so that both need to be unlocked simultaneously using different keys before the door can be lifted off, i. e. removed from its socket. In use one lock will be opened using a key in the custody of the entertainment establishment and the other in the custody of the Police.

The apparatus of Figures 1 and 2 is mounted in a wall not shown of brick or concrete construction by suitable bolts. At a pub or night-club when a security operative locates a drug or drug paraphernalia or other suspicious object he immediately deposits it in the box via the lid 3 which acts as a drugs deposit unit. At the end of the day or at regular intervals the Police call to collect the drugs. To gain access it is necessary to unlock both locks simultaneously so that the door can be removed completely. One key will be held by the manager of the premises and the second, a bespoke one, by the Police. The box is secure because access through the trap lid is denied, and the main door cannot be levered off because of the full cover of the front face, and the pegs received in the sockets.

The invention is not limited to the embodiment shown. For example the locks need not be cylinder locks but could be numerical or the like; extra locks may be used; alarms may be present; the box may be a cylinder; it may be included in other facilities, e. g. a forecourt, place of education, a pharmacy or the like.

The embodiment shown in Figures 3A, 3B and 3C is similar to that shown in Figures 2 and 3 and also shows the dimensions of the parts.