A policeman’s job is only easy in a police state.

The remark contrasts democratic policing—messy, constrained, and accountable—with policing under authoritarian rule, where coercion and unquestioned obedience make enforcement “easy.” It implies that in a free society, police work is inherently difficult because it must balance public safety with civil liberties, due process, and community consent. The line also functions as a warning: when policing becomes “easy,” it may be because rights have been curtailed and dissent suppressed. Attributed to Orson Welles, it aligns with mid‑20th‑century anxieties about state power and the temptation to trade liberty for order.