So, I was out eating with a friend last night, and there's a couple outside at a patio table. There were also a couple of cops a few tables away. The couple came inside to look at something, and the girl left her purse on the table. My friend and I went over to tell her that she had left her purse outside.
Her response was...
"Oh, I know...it's ok though, there's police out there."
That's stupid on many different levels - she's trusting the competence of (presumably) unknown LEOs, she's assuming they're not going to leave, she's unnecessarily putting her purse at risk, and she's placing the burden of private security detail on people who don't even know they've been drafted for that job.
Police presence is awesome, but it would be stupid in any situation to take for granted that they're going to provide any kind of protection - especially off-duty ones who are sitting around eating. I think that from now on, I'll just leave my doors unlocked and windows open...because hey, the cops are out there somewhere. That'll stop the criminals, right?