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If you decide to confront an intruder and hold them for police, remember that the responding officers will only see you as a "man with a gun" when they arrive. Bad guys and good guys often look alike and they won't be able to tell the difference until they sort it all out. Remember, most of the gun calls they go to are, for lack of a politically correct term, "dirtbag on dirtbag". If you do decide to confront, make sure you tell the dispatcher you are armed, are the homeowner, and give them a physical and clothing description of yourself as well as descriptions of the bad guys. When the cops arrive, holster and comply immediately with any orders including getting on the ground.
Having worked patrol for 16 years, I can tell you that law-abiding citizens often have an idea in their mind that their status as the 'good guy" is obvious and immediately discernible. It is a sad fact that cops eventually get very distrustful of everyone and won't know you are the good guy until they verify it after the volatile situation is controlled. Off-duty plain-clothes officers are killed by friendly fire far to often and we were always told in training to assume that if involved in an off-duty encounter,we might not be recognized as police even when displaying a badge.
Also carry a can of foam-type OC spray so if an apparently unarmed suspect tries to approach you while you have them at gunpoint, you can disable them in a legally justified manner. Foam OC is less likely to blow back in your face if it is windy. (learned that the hard way).
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