The trouble is this. After the war years and then conscription that followed, many of the men and officers joined the Police force after the Military. They were practical men who had experience of mess fights on a Friday night, firearms in daily use and the need to carry knives and other bladed objects. This was all fine until the late eighties early nineties and most of them had retired or were dead. Then enter stage left "University Graduates", fast tracked through the ranks as career officers entering now as Inspectors with no real clue about life or reality, they just spent their entire career so far in education.
Not really a background for dealing with miscreants now is it
I've never thought about that aspect before but I think you could be spot on there.