[seabass-labrax]

There's a positive aspect to employing police officers to be present even when there is no tangible risk of crime or danger.

Where I live, it's extremely unusual to ever see a 'bobby on the beat', so when I recently visited a city with thirty or more police officers with riot vans congregated at the docks, ironically I felt slightly uncomfortable - what mortal danger could be present around the corner to justify so much police attention? It turned out to just be a big football match, so there was not such a huge danger after all and the police would no doubt be able to diffuse any disturbance immediately.

If there had been no police around, it would never have occurred to me that there was a risk, even though I would have been tangibly less safe without their presence.