How lawless was England in 1775?

Just started reading A Tale of Two Cities. The first thing that strikes me is that it is slightly different in style to both Great Expectations and Hard Times. The second thing to strike me was what a dangerous place England appeared to be in 1775! The guard of the mail coach was armed with a blunderbus, numerous pistols (single shot flintlocks I suspect) and cutlasses. And this was to protect themselves in that most dangerous of all counties, Kent. Was England really such a lawless place back then?