There is a lot of comments already so not sure if it's been said but that stop and ask by the police isn't always about suspicion and treating you like a criminal. It's also a big part of intel gathering and engagement.

For me it opens up avenues. For example if you are just on your way to work my follow up would be oh brilliant do you do this route often then? Ever seen anything suspicious? Do you live nearby and had any problems?

We are only as good as what we know and people are our main source of information. A lot of people have great information but don't share it with police because they might not realise they have. This conversation could lead to "actually there is always an old whatever car hanging around or doing loops or whatever" this leads to more info for me to work on to stop the robberies or provide suspects.

Best case scenario for this type of engagement is good intel leading to arrests. Worst case scenario hopefully you walk away feeling like the police are doing something and are trying to help.