Yes, it deters the cops. You have to understand that many or most cops are paranoid, cowards, and bullies. They aren’t going around enforcing laws because they think that they need to uphold justice. Rather, they’re going around power tripping. And it’s not such a great power trip if you have to worry about getting shot because people think that you’re dirty.

Of course this is not true for all cops all the time, but it’s certainly true for many cops most of the time.