Car criminal?

Maybe someone could explain this to me:
Someone I know bought a second hand car for her husband to drive to work in. It had had one careful owner and had not a mark on it. As they live in a terraced house without parking, they have to park in the public car park at the rear of the house. From time to time in the past, their cars have been vandalised, but, of course, the police could take no action as there were never any witnesses so they just had to grin and bear it.
As the car had only been bought a few days ago, although insurance was up to date, they had not had chance to tax it, but they couldn't use it anyway as the battery had been removed and was on charge. That was of no account at all to the boys in blue as they carted it off because of its lack of a current tax disc. Remember, no battery in the car, so it couldn't be driven anywhere, and, they must have really had to look for it as it was in a little car park behind a row of houses not on a road. Still, they have their targets to meet, so anything goes and there was no way they were going to listen to the explanations of the owner, when he realised what was happening and ran out to confront them. So, the result was, he and his wife had to lose a day's work while they went off to the car pound to pay £80 for its release. Had they not gone immediately, but left it over the weekend, the bill would have been over £300.
To add insult to injury, when the car was taken away, it had been quite badly dented. The police have agreed to foot the bill for that repair......after the owner has spent another day getting 2 estimates from 2 different garages and then being without it for another day while the job is being done. He has the car because he works shilfts and has no other way of getting to work.
One might be forgiven for wondering which is of more benefit to the public - this heavy-handed bullying of an innocent car-owner, or the devotion of some effort towards doing something about the problem of cars being vandalised in that same car park. No contest, of course. Far easier to hammer the car-owner. Now tell me I'm being cynical!