Why do they pretend this will stop criminals?
The fact is they want citizens to be defenseless.
I'm not so sure.
I don't think they really care if you're defenseless or not.
I know they want to appeal to the most potential voters, and most potential voters are women. Women don't really care if they're defenseless: they prefer to "feel" they aren't in danger in the first place.
Anything that fosters that "sense of security" is going to appeal to women, because women tend to treat their "feelings" like actual sensory input.