So now the police are for sale

This piece in yesterdays Guardian suggests that the police are now for sale. Well at least the saddlecloths and horse boxes of the police horses in Nottinghamshire are. This strikes me as being the edge of what may turn out to be a very long and slippery slope. What next I ask myself? Sponsors logos on the chest and backs of the local bobby on the beat, branded police cars or logos on truncheons and riot shields. How long will it be before someone suggests that the police have backpedalled on an investigation into an alleged crime because it is alleged that it was committed by their biggest sponsor?. This is an idea that should be kicked into the long grass very smartly by the local police authority.