Steinbeck had a knack for saying a lot with a little. "The pearl" is another of his works that is also incredibly short but you could easily discuss it well past its length.
I highly recommend the "grapes of wrath" to anyone who hasn't read it as well. Its account of the brutal knock on effects of the dust bowl and the nature of human kindness and sadism left a mark on my life that never left.
Cops can't do that in general. Defaulting on a loan is a civil matter, i.e failing to meet conditions of a contract, not you breaking a law.
Cops can enforce a judges verdict however, so if you have been sued and lost, then they may be able to compel further action. Generally that's way more work then a repo company wants to do for each car.