The threat of crime forces men to allocate scarce economic resources to the defense againsy criminals. The State is the promary institutional means of crime prevention. The State imposes negative sanctions on convicted criminals. The goal is to uphold justice by means of fear. And those which remain shall hear, and fear, and shall henceforth commit no more any such evil among you.
Fear adds to the cost to criminal behavior.
As the econonist says, when the cost of anything increases, other things remaining equal, less of it is demanded. The expense of crime-prevention reduces men's wealth. They believe that this expenditure prevents an even greater reduction of their wealth by criminals. Men fund it more expensive to cooperate when crime increases. Their lives and property are less secure.