Well so much for my thought that they would restore some authority and power back to the police force.
You can't imagine how stupid it is. The police are not allowed to draw their weapons until they have taken fire! Even then, they are more likely to end up in a murder trial than the criminals, since the justice system is all screwed up. Recently, a man who killed 4 people, after raping the mom and daughter, was found guilty and sentenced to 8 years in prison. According to the law, police would not have been able to use their service weapons to arrest him had they caught him just before killing and raping. The citizens are armed, but if you happen to shoot and not kill, you are headed for jail, and have to pay reparations to the "victim". If you do kill in self defence, you are immediately charged with murder, until a judge decides whether it was justifiable homocide. Crazy place.