"The act of policing is, in order to punish less often, to punish more severely"

This quote by Napoleon Bonaparte recommends that in order to lower the amount of penalty that is required, the penalties that are given ought to be more serious. This implies that if the punishments are more extreme, people will be less most likely to commit the same criminal offense once again. This is because they will be more knowledgeable about the repercussions of their actions and will be most likely to reconsider prior to devoting a crime. This idea of penalizing more significantly in order to punish less often is a form of deterrence, which is a common technique to criminal activity avoidance. By making punishments more severe, it is hoped that people will be less most likely to dedicate criminal activities in the first place, thus lowering the requirement for penalty. This quote by Napoleon Bonaparte is a reminder that punishments should be used as a deterrent, instead of as a form of retribution.