you may be interested in James C. Scott's books.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Art_of_Not_Being_Governe... https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_C._Scott#Major_works

Those are the same things.

Preventing crime and defending the authority of the state are quite different.

Plenty of protests that challenge the authority of the state are completely legal. The state will not lose much authority if laws broken behind the front door of a family go unpunished.

Most of us here are lucky enough to live in a country where the laws were written for more than maintaining the authority of the state.

Police act as the enforcement wing of the judicial system.

If it were true, wage theft would be the priority over shoplifting as it’s by far the largest category of theft

you don't see a difference there 'I have this authority for the common good, and if I don't use it wisely I can undermine my very goals' vs 'I have this authority, to protect this authority, and if you act to call that into question I have no choice but to make you hurt badly'

not really the same

America's varied policing systems seem to be wildly worse than average for the developed west.

In what ways?

That is because America is largely under-policed: https://twitter.com/SwannMarcus89/status/1675570458069028866

Increasing police staff by 10% reduces violent crime by 13%: https://twitter.com/cremieuxrecueil/status/16507235903066890...

This video seems to be what modern policing is all about in America https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=pDSXf608kqU