--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is a policeman’s duty to retrieve…" description: "\"It is a policeman’s duty to retrieve stolen property and return it to its owners. But when robbery becomes the purpose of the law, and the policeman’s ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4be/ayn-rand-59_duty_it-is-a-policeman-s-duty-to-retrieve-sto_2786042.jpg" --- # It is a policeman’s duty to retrieve stolen property and… ![“It is a policeman’s duty to retrieve stolen property and return it to its owners. But when robbery becomes the purpose of the law, and the policeman’s duty becomes, not protection, but the plunder of property - then it is an outlaw who has to become a policeman.” quote by Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4be/ayn-rand-59_duty_it-is-a-policeman-s-duty-to-retrieve-sto_2786042.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4be/ayn-rand-59_duty_it-is-a-policeman-s-duty-to-retrieve-sto_2786042.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4be/ayn-rand-59_duty_it-is-a-policeman-s-duty-to-retrieve-sto_2786042.jpg) > “It is a policeman’s duty to retrieve stolen property and return it to its owners. But when robbery becomes the purpose of the law, and the policeman’s duty becomes, not protection, but the plunder of property - then it is an outlaw who has to become a policeman.” [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. When law serves theft rather than protection, law enforcers become criminals, reversing their moral role. **In simple terms:** Law meant to protect becomes a tool for plunder, turning police into outlaws. Key Takeaway Demand laws that protect, not exploit. Themes justice law corruption morality Mood critical urgent concerned Type political ethical analytical When to use this quote - policy reform - civil rights activism - community policing - legal education Key Concepts state power ethical inversion Questions to Reflect On - How can societies prevent law from being weaponized? - What safeguards protect police integrity? A Different Perspective Complex power dynamics may not be fully captured by this binary view. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Duty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/duty/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Outlaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/outlaw/) [Policemen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/policemen/) [Property](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/property/) [Protection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/protection/) [Purpose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose/) [Robbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/robbery/) ## Related quotes > [I was involved in the robbery for a purpose, and that was because I knew somebody who could drive a diesel train. 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The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/there-is-a-fundamental-moral-difference-between-a-man-who-sees-his/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Inflation is not caused by the actions of private citizens, but by the government: by an artificial expansion of the money supply required to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/inflation-is-not-caused-by-the-actions-of-private-citizens-but-by-the/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“The character of Moses, as stated in the Bible, is the most horrid that can be imagined. If those accounts be true, he was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/the-character-of-moses-as-stated-in-the-bible-is-the-most-horrid-that/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [There are people who think that plunder loses all its immorality as soon as it becomes legal. Personally, I cannot imagine a more alarming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/there-are-people-who-think-that-plunder-loses-all-its-immorality-as/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [The business of obscuring language is a mask behind which stands the much bigger business of plunder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frantz-fanon/the-business-of-obscuring-language-is-a-mask-behind-which-stands-the/) [Frantz Fanon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frantz-fanon/) > [“Private property based on the labour of the small proprietor, free competition, democracy, i.e., all the catchwords with which the capitalists and their press…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-lenin/private-property-based-on-the-labour-of-the-small-proprietor-free/) [Vladimir Lenin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-lenin/) > [Why, I say, that to tax the community for the advantage of a class is not protection; it is plunder, and I entirely disclaim…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/why-i-say-that-to-tax-the-community-for-the-advantage-of-a-class-is/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [Sometimes the law defends plunder and participates in it. 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