I understand what you are saying. I don't know you personally and your experience, but I think your point of view is coming from only ever knowing rules.
I don't remember saying too much free-will dilutes gameplay. However, not enough free-will does undoubtedly dilute gameplay. It is really quite simple; you're not allowed to do things, so there are less things for you to do. 'Containing' an incident isn't hard and is absolutely roleplayable. I presume you're referring to a mass-RDM or something similar. That is also simple - the police deal with it. The police can't deal with it? Then its, like you said, absolute anarchy. Absolutely nothing unrealistic about that.
Like you said; terms and conditions, rules and such. Basic conduct rules are appropriate in this case. Terms and conditions are unrelated to roleplay. Countries have laws, not rules. When I moved to the US, did I read every single law my new Country, State, County, and City has in place to prevent crime? No - that is simple because all of the laws that you'd need to adhere to on a day-to-day basis are common sense - don't murder, don't rob people. What about if I'm thinking about buying, say, a knife? I'd read up local laws that apply to me in this not-so day-to-day situation. This is where ignorance of the law comes in - it makes you want to look-up specific laws to avoid punishment through a justice system, or the police in-game in this case.
I completely understand what you're saying regarding rules that prevent repetitive tasks for police like the example you made. However, it's just a massive contradiction to the whole argument in the first place. Law enforcement aren't there to conduct raids on drug lords 24/7, their job is to uphold the law and every aspect of it, even if that means dealing with a trespass on a crime scene. Road crew workers who don't want to spent their game time in jail won't trespass in a obviously 'mingy' annoying way.
Honestly, the whole rules vs no rules argument can be solved with deterrence. People won't do annoying things that the rules are there to prevent due the consequences of their actions, and the few exceptions where that slips through is comparable to that of real life.