I forgot to add....... The policeman on the beat would pick up valuable information by just chatting to the public again stopping crime before it happened, much much cheaper than a paid police informant.
When I was growing up, a policeman was seen as a friend not someone who causes apprehension if they stop and talk to you.
The excuse for the chauffer driven car will be they are working during the journey, they are unable to do that in a taxi I suppose.
