[Shandrax]

[ QUOTE ]
Any person who would rob a bank if they were sure they could get away with it, but doesn't because they aren't, is at least as bad a person as an actual bank robber. The only difference between them is that the bank robber is crazy or less worried about jail. Their disregard for others is totally equal.

[/ QUOTE ]

It is the way people are brought up. Your mom tells you "if you do that, I am going to beat you up" and that's why you don't do it. All of this forms the character so that "good" people don't even waste time on thinking about crime because they know about the punishment. It happens in the subcontience. They know that behaving according to the rules will not be punished, so they don't even take the risk of trusting their own "better" judgement.

People who think they could get away with crime have probably managed to escape the punishment of their parents too often when they were kids. Just an idea...

A very easy example would be a redlight with a camera. I bet that people (who know about it) respect the redlight with camera much more than one without camera, simply because they know that they can't get away with "crime".