The Police is a single idea in many different roles. The legislation going into it helps to keep its shape. However, it’s still easy to second guess it. It’s also easy to manipulate its purpose. It isn’t always safe or always effective.
An example is “False Report”. Their idea was to make up their own impression of the UK to use to break the law. I tracked an Officer to Reading in 2010 and saw him doing it. He loitered in a Police car in a car park to make records.
He sent notes to a contact in a Bristol-based office. They had plans to rent more space. The tasks involved making scripts for telephone calls. They mocked up legal letters. They kept lists of addresses for hit jobs to keep it all safe.
I spoke to a Police investigator who monitored their activity. He called it the worst crime he’d ever seen. It’s believed large areas were struck. The involvement of other criminals meant the work to shut it down took so much longer.