A new development is the use of decoy or scarecrow police cars. The understaffed Chicago Police Department parks empty squad cars in prominent locations and leaves the blue lights flashing constantly. Somehow this is supposed to deter criminals.
Until someone steals the blue lights.
There has been in the past and I am sure it is true today.
That many rural areas do not run 24/7 coverage.
Or the coverage is so slim the response time is very long.