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The individual officers are to blame, but the department system is also a significant problem. If you read the old Wambaugh book, The Blue Knight, you'll see a lot of the attitude that prevails. Police don't like to be on a leash. Many also believe that you don't nail the bad guys by responding to calls, but by nosing around looking for stuff. If departmental policies aren't strict, they will not notify dispatch of their location, arrival times, etc. At the fire station where I worked, I saw on several occasions officers report responding on their hand-helds and then finish watching a series of downs on a football game. I've also seen them delay answering radio queries for available units to see if they could pass a call onto someone else. The subject call of this article is the classic try to dodge it call, a domestic dispute with estranged spouse. Most police departments have terrible systems for tracking personnel, and many police officers I've known have a serious "the rules apply to everybody but me" attitude. This means that in most departments, if you don't have a strict accountability system, including patrol routes, boundaries of patrol, response time parameters, etc, many officers will spend the shift doing whatever they feel like.

"Many also believe that you don't nail the bad guys by responding to calls, but by nosing around looking for stuff."

This is true. Generally, you don't nail the bad guys by answering calls. However, good officers answer their calls, and THEN fill up their free time, if they have any, looking to nail bad guys.