Many of us have felt the effect of the cuts over the past five years as spending has been reduced for many public services including the police. Since 2010 in England and Wales we’ve lost 17,000 police officers, a quarter of police helicopter bases have closed and some forces have retired almost half of their police dogs. This reduction in budget has led some people to take matters into their own hands. But experts warn that the actions of these people can cause serious problems for police forces under pressure and even make prosecutions more difficult.