The last three vehicles that our local LEO's pulled that were IDed as burglary suspects had handheld scanners in their possesion. Trunking the systems on 800MHz really helped, but going to digital has dropped the burglarers edge of knowing the local cops are on to them by 99%.
The law enforcement community is trying to combat the criminal mind by increasing technology. That being said, it is a headache for us listening to our brothers in blue. Remember, most criminals are stupid, otherwise they would have legal jobs. Most criminals couldn't tell you what a frequency is much less how digital communication works. The future looks kinda bleak as more and more agencies encrypt their communications, but to serve the law abiding populace they're gonna have to.
Sad to say.
Barry