Unless things have changed they are manned by civilians not cops. They are mostly funded out of the fines.
One consolation is to remember that crime does not pay. Eventually they will get sloppy and they will do time. And once they are known to the Police they are more likely to get caught next time. The prisons are full of idiots like this, they are criminals not because they are clever, it’s because they are lazy and stupid, they think they will just keep getting away with it. They have to keep doing it because, at the end of the day you can’t get that much money selling stolen goods. But they are stupid, they think it’s easy money, not realising that a job actually pays much better. Also, they have no piece of mind. They must continually be on edge, wary of the Police, wary of mates who might cash them in for a shorter sentence and wary of all the low lives they spend their life with.
I don't think it's the Police, it's the sentencing, Police catch them and they get **** sentences. Out in no time to rob again.
Sorry to hear this and hope you get through this ordeal. You've certainly not let anyone down. Although nobody entered my house I had some stuff taken from a secure storage facility a couple of months back and can feel some of the pain. Most of it was of no great value but there were items of great sentimental value (old BFC shirts, treasured memorabilia and stuff and leaving gifts from jobs) that I can never replace, amongst the electronics they had obviously targeted. It did/does feel that memorable parts of my life had been removed and a numb void left. Whilst I do understand and sympathise with all the Tory cuts to police funding dealing with SYP it felt like there was a whole, presumably costly, army of people in place to bombard me with forms and leaflets and to tell me on multiple occasions how and why they weren't able or going to be doing anything and yet the SOC officers were too stretched, despite there being CCTV pictures and leads to where the thieves had got the entry codes to the storage facility from.
2005, Valentines day, neight art, got back abart 1am 3, yes 3 intruders in house 2 ran out of the back door which they'd broken through, 1 was upstairs, yer aderenalins pumping like fook, i ran upstairs bit of a fracas and the fooker stuck me with a needle, i threw him straight through the bedroom window, anyhow cut a long story short, i was arrested then de - arrested hours later, sought medical attention, had an aids, hepititus b, hepititus c, tests, then some fooking do goooder came an asked if i wanted to sit in the same room and disguss the situation with the burglar, anyhow that never happened, summat to do with my reaction, i feel for you Mr YTBFC, but you are not at fault, you are not to blame, you are a victim.
If someone breaks into your home it should be perfectly legal beat then to death if you have the capacity to do so.