As dusk approaches in Bournemouth, nine men and one woman are gathered in a town centre car park. All are dressed in black, wearing dark blue tabards with the words “Safeguard Force”. They are about to set off on their evening patrol in an area where, the group says, “our streets are not safe” and “our women walk in fear”. Tonight’s volunteers are a mixed bunch, but there’s a preponderance of tattoos, powerful frames and bulging muscles.
“We don’t like the word ‘vigilantes’, don’t like it at all,” says Gary Bartlett, the group’s founder. It’s a word some in the town are using to describe the group, but others appear to be welcoming them with open arms. There is, many believe, something rotten at the heart of Bournemouth, and the hope is that Bartlett and his friends can help to fix it.
