Most Britons will have seen a life-size cutout of a police officer ‘standing’ in a shop window (as pictured above). Far fewer, especially those below the age of 30, are likely to have seen the real thing. Despite evidence that it works, proper preventative police foot patrols have effectively been put to bed.
The effects of this on businesses, for example, are clear; criminals now feel as though they have a “licence to shoplift.” So rather than wait for police to respond to crime once it has already been committed, those who can afford it are turning to private forces.
