It's funny because having visited America I assumed it was vastly over policed with it being not uncommon to see 3 or 4 apparently different agency vehicles (highway patrol, sheriff's office, etc) on a relatively short journey.

I was quite surprised to find that the figures don't back that up. I'm not sure how to account for it. Perhaps the fact that every mall security guard is given a mock police uniform, a gun and a huge SUV contributes to the feeling.