At the beginning of "the Regulator" Hitchen expresses his grievance for "such abominable practices" carried out by "such as have assumed the title of thief-takers" that "if these should hold their peace, the stones in the city would cry out" and thereupon adds that he hopes "effectual care will be taken to have the same strictly examined into." Hitchen gives one example out of many similar cases, where Wild saves his accomplices and prosecutes an innocent one, at least in that particular crime. Three "notorious rogues", William Mathews, Christopher Matthews and Obadiah Lemmon robbed a lady in a coach near St. Paul's Churchyard. Wild for fear of losing these profitable criminals, met the three and arranged for one of them to be an evidence in the court, which meant him giving the names of "a numerous train of offenders" and convicting them. but at the same time he should not have mentioned the stealing of a dozen of handkerchiefs and other robberies involving Wild directly as a receiver, otherwise they would lose their "factor" by "bringing his own neck into the noose and put it into power of every little prig". As a result, the three offenders escaped the justice and the thief-taker received a reward of £40 for arresting and hanging "shim-sham thieves", Hugh Oakley and Henry Chickley.