How soon after I catch someone stealing from me do I have to accuse them to the clerks in the outposts? I caught one and by the time I got to the next outpost it had been too long.

Maybe I should have just ditched my caravan and run straight there...

>>sometimes its not a matter of time, its a matter of charisma, and the criminal record of both you and the accusee.

I'm not so sure trader accuse is working properly. I had several friends attempt to steal from me on the routes (with a caravan), but the minister gave me the old "Maybe if you'd reported this sooner." message when I tried to accuse them. Even more recently, someone attempted to steal from me on the NTR near Arthe Dale, but again, the minister didn't believe me. I ran to Crossing and successfully accused the person at the guardhouse.

I'm not very familiar with the justice system. Should I be able to accuse out of town thefts in town? If this doesn't seem wonky, what does it take to get someone thugged? This is a 93rd circle trader working with 40 charisma, who has been jailed less than 30 times over the years if that matters any.