Can somebody tell me what the Police are for?

How can this be true?

A cash-strapped police force has spent £3.8million on security guards – to protect its own stations.

It is just seems beyond paraody

Figures reveal that between April 2009 and April this year, the force paid £1.51million to Surrey-based security contractor ISS Facility Services. Between 2007 and 2008, the company was paid just over £1million and the next year it received a further £1.27million.
West Midlands Police defended its approach. A spokesman said: ‘Duties undertaken by security staff cover the full range, from nightwatchman at sites that are closed and unoccupied out of hours, to security receptionist at sites where there are many visitors requiring identity verification.
‘Police officers are far more effectively used and offer better value for money to the taxpayer if they are working in their communities.
‘We rely on increasingly advanced and valuable technology to tackle crime, and as a result private firms play an increasingly prominent role.’
‘Taxpayers simply can’t afford these overheads’