In the dispute with the established graziers on whose land the Kellys were encroaching, they were suspected many times of cattle or horse stealing, but never convicted. In all, eighteen charges were brought against members of Kelly's immediate family before he was declared an outlaw, while only half that number resulted in guilty verdicts. This is a highly unusual ratio for the time, and led to claims that Kelly's family was unfairly targeted from the time they moved to northeast Victoria. Perhaps the move was necessary because of Kelly's mother's squabbles with family members and her appearances in court over family disputes. Author Antony O'Brien has argued that Victoria's colonial police practices treated arrest as equivalent to proof of guilt.