Laws protect, even conceal a resident (5)
I believe the answer is:
local
'a resident' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'laws protect even conceal' is the wordplay.
'laws' becomes 'll' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'protect' indicates putting letters inside.
'even' means one should take alternating letters (even-numbered letters are used).
The alternate letters of 'conceal' are 'oca'.
'll' placed around 'oca' is 'LOCAL'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for local that I've seen before include "Regional; nearby" , "Your friendly neighbourhood pub" , "Confined to a place" , "Belonging to a particular place" , "In the vicinity" .)