Fear of the Law Must Be Greater Than Fear of the Criminals - Why Police Visibility Matters

When people fear criminals more than they trust the law, you no longer have law and order, you have survival of the boldest thug. The fundamental contract that underpins any civilised society is simple, if you follow the law, you’re protected, if you break it, you’re punished. But in many parts of modern society, especially in Australia’s more fragile suburban zones, that contract has been rewritten, by omission.

The street criminal, the gang leader, the violent addict, they don’t need to outthink the law. They just need to outwait it. When response times stretch beyond reason, when police patrols vanish into bureaucratic budgets, when the only visible uniforms are private contractors who’ve been told not to engage, then the message is clear, You’re on your own.

And that is precisely what many communities are experiencing now. A vacuum of authority filled not by virtue, but by intimidation. Not by order, but by opportunism. When a shoplifter can threaten a worker and walk away untouched, when a teen gang can roam a shopping centre unchecked, when citizens hesitate to report crime for fear of reprisal, you don’t have policing, you have permission.

The solution is not complicated. It’s visible. It’s called police presence.

Not PR campaigns. Not community barbecues. Not some muppet painting his face with white paint. Patrols. Uniforms. Visibility. Consequences.

When offenders believe they’ll be caught, they act differently. Not because they’ve had a moral epiphany, but because they’ve performed the same cost-benefit analysis they use in every other decision. Is this worth the risk? And when the answer is yes, it means the risk is missing.

It’s often said that criminals don’t fear the law. That’s not entirely true. They fear the law they can see. They fear the patrol car that rounds the corner twice an hour. They fear the officer who knows their face, their hangouts, their routines. They fear being watched, followed, documented, arrested. That fear is not a flaw in the system. It’s a feature.

Security, both public and private, operates best when it has the psychological edge. When criminals can’t predict when and where they’ll be challenged. That edge is earned through routine disruption, not reactive paperwork. It is sustained through proactive deterrence, not endless procedural reviews.

The consequences of ignoring this are visible. Crime concentrates in areas where the law retreats. From suburban bus stations to city laneways to shopping centres, the absence of police presence becomes a breeding ground for rule-breakers. And eventually, victims stop calling for help, not because they don't need it, but because they've lost faith that anyone will come.

This isn’t just an operational failure. It’s a moral one.

A government’s first obligation is to protect its citizens from harm. That begins with restoring the fear of law in those who would otherwise terrorise the innocent. And that fear begins not with sentencing guidelines or media statements, not with a barrage of new unenforceable law, but with boots on the ground.

Visible law enforcement sends a simple but powerful message, someone is watching, and someone will act. The mere presence of authority can stop crimes that would otherwise play out uninterrupted. It de-escalates without saying a word. It deters without raising a hand. And it reassures those who live, work, and walk in those spaces that they are not alone.

The criminal should not be more comfortable than the shopkeeper. The offender should not feel more protected than the commuter. When that balance flips, the law has already lost, and society pays the price.

It’s not enough to have laws on the books. They must be backed by force, demonstrated through presence, and reinforced through certainty.

Because until the fear of the law is greater than the fear of the criminal, we don’t have justice. We have a hostage situation. From the author.

The opinions and statements are those of Sam Wilks and do not necessarily represent whom Sam Consults or contracts to. Sam Wilks is a skilled and experienced Security and Risk Consultant with 3 decades of expertise in the fields of Real estate, Security, and the hospitality/gaming industry. Sam has trained over 1,000 entry level security personnel, taught defensive tactics, weapons training and handcuffs to policing personnel and the public. His knowledge and practical experience have made him a valuable asset to many organisations looking to enhance their security measures and provide a safe and secure environment for their clients and staff.