That last bit's dead right, Genghis.
A few years ago, I was in Florence (Firenze) with a Church group. Two of us were walking slighty behind the rest of the group, watching out for pickpockets (we had been warned!)
Over the street was a policemen, preening himself in his flashy uniform (image a bit spoiled because he was even more overweight than me). Very much the "local police presence".
At that moment, John and I observed a scruffy teenager dip a hand into the shoulder-bag of one of the party: we pounced on said teenager, and caught her "in flagrante delicto" as it were.
We looked over the road to the policeman, and shouted "Policia!". He looked across, saw we had "apprehended" this youth, and scurried off down a sidestreet as fast as his fat little legs would carry him. Clearly didn't want to be involved in anything as messy as an arrest.
A nearby shopkeeper said to us "Don't involve the police - it will take you days of form-filling and interviewing, and they may even prosecute you for injuring the little rogue. Just break her arm and let her go."
Makes you think, doesn't it!