Law enforcement. Just the long arm of the tax collector?

If you're old enough you might remember a time when police wore uniforms instead of body armor and when you waved at them they'd smile and wave back.  Of course if you do remember this you also remember what a community actually felt like and that kids used to be able to play outside unattended. Oh those were the days.
These days however, 'law enforcement officers' fill us all with dread and the chances of letting our children play outside without having to watch them every second is slim to none.
I've been thinking about the differences between the police of the past with the law enforcement of the present.  Police used to be a part of our communities, they would walk or drive the same routes every day and make sure that the community was safe for the people.  We got to know these men and women on a first name basis and they got to know us, they knew when things weren't right in the community because they knew what the community was and when the community diverged from normality.  They would attend functions and were a part of the day to day lives of the people they served.
In my past careers I've had many interactions with present day law enforcement officers, I swear it's all been good, after trying talk casually with many local and federal officers I've noticed there is a definite change in them.  Many are moody and closed off, they don't talk casually, they grunt or use as few words as possible.  This has certainly closed them off to the general public. We no longer trust them because we can no longer get to know them, and vice versa.  Law enforcement doesn't trust us.  The people of the community are now eyed with the same suspicious awareness as any known gang member.
When the uniform and body armor go on, the game face gets put on and to the officers, it's now Us vs Them.  To the officers, they are no longer protecting the community, they are policing it.  We are no longer under their protection but under their scrutiny.  They Serve and Protect, but it's not the community they are serving or protecting.    They have become the long arm of the bureaucrats, administrators and accountants, ensuring that the ordered vision of the ivory towered elite is being maintained. We the small people must be kept in line lest we destroy their perfect order.  Reminds me of the Lego Movie.
The average law enforcement officer is more likely to hand out a ticket than arrest a criminal.  In fact, the officers I have been able to casually talk to have indicated this exact thing, they'll spend weeks writing tickets without ever having intervened in a single criminal activity.  
This brought to mind another story. Robin Hood.  The rotten Sheriff of Nottingham and his deputies patrolling the land and taxing and fining the people down to their last coin, all to fill the coffers of the evil Prince John.  I wonder if we'll soon see flashing lights outside our doors and officers shaking us down, collecting taxes for the government.  (The popular version of Robin Hood is nothing but myth, King Richard was the real villain, but that's for another installment.)
With all the traffic fines being handed out every day, most in order to fill a quota, I am beginning to view law enforcement as just another form of tax collector, with the government bureaucracy using the once proud and useful police force as a way to squeeze the community of even more of our hard earned cash. Make no mistake, this is tax collection not law enforcement, just look at the outrageous fines.  Park within a foot of a fire hydrant and the fine is almost $400.  You could get a lesser punishment for robbing your local corner store.
You're also less likely to be caught too.
We've lost our communities and the friendly officers that came with them, what we've gotten in exchange is an impersonal city with impersonal law enforcement/tax collectors.  Perhaps each cruiser should have an IRS trademark.
Or maybe I'm wrong.