 Colquhoun was influenced by the utilitarian ideas of his colleague, Jeremy Bentham, who helped make the case for the establishment of the river police.On the subject of policing, Bentham promoted the views of Italian Marquis Cesare Beccaria, and disseminated a translated version of "Essay on Crime in Punishment".Beccaria placed preventive policing in terms consistent with Bentham's own beliefs, espousing the guiding principle of "the greatest good for the greatest number", which Bentham used as the foundation of his utilitarian philosophy