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

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.

ENGADGET