A police force does not reduce crime on a large scale.

There may be those instances where a person who planning to commit a crime defers his act due to a police presence. But I would expect that only changes the time the crime is committed.

For example, a guy planning to rob a convenience store will choose to pass by a store with police cars in the lot. He'd either wait until they left or move to another store that doesn't have police hanging around.


A police force is used primarily to catch people breaking the law or who broke the law.

The perceived threat of punishment and the scale of that punishment is the primary scope of deterrence.

A person's behavior is an individual action. To engage in a particular act is solely the decision of the individual.

There is no law under the sun that forces certain behavior.

We've heard the talking point, "You can't legislate morality." And that's true.

Instead, society legislates AGAINST immorality.

No law forces a person to not rob a bank.

But there are laws that categorize robbing banks as bad behavior.

Laws also prescribe punishment for engaging in bad behavior.

Robbing a bank is wrong.
The punishment for robbing a bank is prison time.


Another deterrence to crime is a society made up of individuals who understand right from wrong and behave accordingly.

Of course, this takes us to the discussion of whether morality is objective or subjective. Is there a universal moral code outside of and beyond individuals, or is the moral code different for each individual?