Reverse mountain range is used by most pirates to enter Grand Line. The other routes are Marijoa and Calm belt, these are not easily accessible. Why doesn't the Navy encamp at the entrance (or exit) of the reverse mountain range to capture pirates as they enter Grand Line?

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    Probably because most pirates that are everything the grand line are fairly powerful and so to keep enough marines there to arrest and fight the plates would significantly​ weaken their forces elsewhere. – Cyberson Jun 5 '17 at 6:23

Primary reason is because not all pirates are from the 4 Seas. Many pirates are hail from the Grandline themselves. If they are weak they leave Grandline and make themselves home in other parts of the ocean. A good Example is Arlong who left Grandline to conquer East Blue or Lola who escaped from "New World" into "paradise".

Navy also takes into consideration a variety of factors.

  • Pirates eliminate each other. Luffy didn't fight marines initially except Captain Morgan and then Smoker. He however eliminated other heavyweights of East Blue. Saved Marine the trouble. Thus stopping new pirates from entering the Grand Line may be proved counterproductive.

  • Shichibukai. The warlord system has worked well for the World Government. Pirates entering the Grandline are young and immature but only the strongest survive to reach the Redline. Thus The establishment of Marine Triangle near Sabaody Archipelago. They can stop the pirates their as well

  • Marines True Purpose. The true purpose of Marines isn't controlling the pirates. The pirates are dangerous because they are after the "truth". It is heavily foreshadowed that One Piece would reveal the details of Void Century and how World Government was formed. Hence the best of these are near the New World

  • Tenryubitto. The protection of "Gods" is also a much more important task. Hence we see Marine captains are of all types some of which routinely oppress citizens, are corrupt and don't care for the average people. Hence, the rise of Piracy and Banditry

The situation however is not completely like that. The marine implements what you've tried to ask. Try to think of the reason why Smoker was deployed at Logue Town. It was because being the last island before entering the grand line pirates would flock there to resupply before entering the grand line. We also see how he captures numerous pirates before they even enter grand line. A Logia powered captain can easily capture pirates worth 100 Million I believe.

  • I think this is the answer but the "truth" is not the only reason why Marines hate Pirates. White beard existed before the great pirate age and the Marines were after him. Navy had a purpose even before the great pirate age. – Lordbalmon Jun 6 '17 at 0:01
  • @Lordbalmon "Great Pirate Age" began after Gol D Roger died. But Marines and World Government existed beforehand. A clear example of Marine prosecution is Ohara. Civilians and Scientists both were wiped off the map for just discovering the name of the Country which existed before the void century. Many pirates are hunted for crimes (Such as Caribou/Coribou etc.) But as Kidd said, in the new world, any pirate not ready to go for "One Piece" doesn't stand a chance of survival. Marines purpose as the military wing of World Government is protecting the secret of the gods. – Arcane Jun 6 '17 at 0:06
  • Hmmm.. I still think the advent of Marines was for a different reason but you have strong references and good point about Lougetown – Lordbalmon Jun 6 '17 at 0:21
  • Smoker probably too overpowered in Logue Town. The island is located in East Blue where the average bounty is 3million and the highest bounty is 30million (Luffy first bounty). – Darjeeling Jun 6 '17 at 1:54
  • @Darjeeling Exactly my point. Smoker's appointment is indicative that the Marines have tried to stop the inflow of pirates in Grand Line. – Arcane Jun 6 '17 at 2:53

To answer this we have to first look at the regions. We have the North, South, East and West Blue. The Grand Line, and after that the New World.

The navy has coverage in all of these areas to some extent but they can't be everywhere. Their army is not infinite nor is the bulk of the issue caused by pirates.

If you recall in the Sabody island arc (right after fishman island) not only was there a more heavy appearance of the navy but there also were way stronger members who were in the area.

Why? Because in the new world there is a higher priority due to several things (the tenryubito, the 4 yonkou, etc).

Naturally there need to be marines all over but they can't just set up a tent in one place. They need to be dispersed, but in a way where they have the bulk of their force where they need it most. Which is why the grand line is essentially uncamped.

Lastly, recall that it takes great skill to even cross the red-line most ships either crash into the mountain side or get devoured by sea kings either immediately before or immediately after crossing. I imagine the risk vastly outweighs the reward

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