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BOTH SIDES OF THE LAW Jonathan Wild was one of London’s most ruthless and powerful criminals. He also brought criminals to justice. Calling himself the "Thief Taker General of Great Britain and Ireland," he used a vast network of criminal informers to become the most famous thief taker London had ever known. He even sent some of his fellow criminals to the gallows. Wild was hanged in 1725, at the age of 43. BILLY THE KID Billy  the Kid never went to school. Born in New York City in 1859, he was brought up on the legend of Jesse James .He became a gambler, a rustler (a cattle and horse thief), and a killer. Billy's real name is believed to be William H. Bonney. Before he died he still wore his sunglasses. TRACKER In 1880, Patrick Floyd Garrett, the sheriff of Lincoln County, New Mexico, captured the notorious outlaw Billy the Kid, The Kid escaped from jail but not from Garrett, who tracked him for three months and finally shot him dead at Fort Sumner

Whether bounty hunters in the American Wild West  or thief takers in 18th-century Britain, some people have always been ready to catch criminals for a rich reward. There were few sheriffs in the new, 19th-century towns of the United States, so bounty hunters flourished as rough-and-ready peacekeepers. Thief taking became popular in England after the passage of the Highwayman Act in 1692. This act offered large rewards for the capture of highwaymen and other criminals. If the thief takers were criminals themselves, they would be granted a pardon for bringing in the accused. This meant that it was easy for a guilty person to send an innocent one to the gallows. THE PAYOFF Bounty hunters and thief takers were paid well .In Britain, a thief taker earned 40 pounds, and the highwayman’s horse and goods, for each convicted thief. In the United States, the bounty hunter’s reward depended on the notoriety of the criminal .The first reward offered for the outlaw Jesse James was $500