A sad state of affairs

[mjr]

So you mean they are starting to run like private companies have to do.

With many important exceptions, including that they've basically only one customer, aren't allowed to compete with similar providers, and giving up and liquidating the company when it's no longer profitable or worthwhile isn't an option. It's not healthy to expect the police to run like a private company - it should run in the public interest, which is a curious and difficult-to-devine thing.