we see a show of force to impress out-of-towners that city folk are being forced to obey the supreme commander

That's my take away. I don't see city dwellers (or even suburbanites who commute to the city) complaining about crime in their cities. It seems to me that most of the complaints about crime in the cities are coming from rural people who rarely visit the city, but get their impressions about crime in the city from news media on both left and right. It's very easy to get the impression that cities are crime ridden if you never visit the city.

I don't think I'm contradicting albaby's points about the impression or feelings about crime. That seems to be a plausible explanation of the situation. But as a suburbanite myself, I don't feel that crime is running rampant in the larger cities around me. Sure - it's happening. And it probably happens more in larger cities than in rural areas, simply because its easier for those with a tendency toward crime to be in more densely populated areas. Easier to hide. More potential targets, including targets of opportunity. More access to more street drugs.

--Peter