Even among ordinary people, the default system was limited (if not selective) enforcement. There were a lot of capital crimes, but even assuming someone who committed one of them was caught (before the introduction of police forces or detectives) and convicted (before the introduction of state prosecutors), they would often be pardoned or receive a lighter sentence.

Juries also had a role to play. For instance, at one stage you could be hanged for stealing property with a value of more than 40 shillings. There was at least one case where a jury convicted someone of stealing property to a total value of 39 shillings, even though what he stole included more than 40 shillings in cash!