Relationships and contacts with law-enforcement agents are prohibited not so much in the interests of security as to protect reputation: "It is a fundamental rule for every man of honor never to report a theft or crime to the police" (TC: 121). How, indeed, would it be possible to make a living protecting others from crime if one were known to have fallen victim to it oneself?

DEFINE: Clarifies how honor codes operate: the taboo against police contact stems from reputational concerns, not security — a key concept about the social logic of honor-based communities.

Diego Gambetta, The Sicilian Mafia The Busi…, loc. 310