At the other extreme is a system of very high fines.

ECONOMIST: Free exchange: Fine and punishment | The

Anything lower reduces the expected cost of criminality, without doing anything to improve the probability of detection. (Treating whistleblowers leniently is consistent with this logic: letting them off punishment raises the odds of truth-telling, and therefore of detection.) There are plenty of arguments against ultra-high fines, however.

ECONOMIST: Free exchange

Now the FSA wants to increase fine levels, claiming fines have not been high enough to deter wrongdoers.

BBC: FSA issued record fines in 2009

The fines are simply not high enough to deter someone who is currently able to get a very good price for scrap metal.

BBC: Scrap metal theft 'on same level as drug scene'

Mr Dhoble or his officers have also shown up at five of the city's high-end bars this month, slapping fines on them for overcrowding or for allowing DJs to perform without the correct licences.

ECONOMIST: India��s anti-alcohol laws: Inspector Killjoy | The

Catalonia's high court has ruled that the sanctions envisaged by Mr Pujol fines of up to Pta10m, plus the closure of offending cinemas for up to six months would be illegal.

ECONOMIST: Catalans versus Hollywood

It said the high cost of debt recovery meant it was not always cost-effective to pursue some fines.

BBC: Library books

Samuels has been fighting the battle against dangerously broad patents for some time now, recently traveling to DC to support passage of the SHIELD Act (Saving High-tech Innovators from Egregious Legal Disputes), a congressional bill that would impose heavy fines against so-called patent trolls.

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