Working as a civilian security guard, I always knew something bad could happen – that I could be injured by someone who was shoplifting, or that I could be falsely accused of assaulting them and that I would end up in the dock. But these instances are so rare, I didn’t actually think one would actually happen to me.
And then it did. I still remember that night when my career ended in March 2023. My work partner Edwin Hirst, 40, and I were attempting to detain a youngster who was trying to steal shampoo from Superdrug and then headbutted me.
We got him to the floor. But then – as he was black – he accused us of being racist, and the police, due, I believe, to pressure from his mother, decided to prosecute us for tackling him in an “unlawful and unjustified” manner and take us to court.
From there, it snowballed. The mother, who can’t be named as it identifies her 15-year-old son, went on Channel Four news, and put out posts on social media which got millions of views – all saying we were racist.
We both lost our jobs at the security firm we were working for, part of the local Business Improvement Districts partnership, which did nothing to help us. And then we had to wait 16 months for the case to come to Portsmouth Crown Court and prove our innocence.
During this time, I haven’t been able to work, having lost my security guard badge.
This means I lost my monthly salary of £1,200 a month – so nearly £20,000, which I won’t get back. To be honest, I am in so much debt, I don’t even look at my bank statements or bills. I just ignore them. My friend even set me up a GoFundMe page but it made no money.
And my mental health has suffered so badly. Chichester, where I have lived and worked all my life, is a small city where everyone knows everyone. But at my worst, I was in a pit of depression and couldn’t even go to the shops as it would spark my head tremors, a kind of repetitive twitching that comes from anxiety.
I nearly broke up with my partner as it got so bad, and the doctors put me on Propranolol for my anxiety and Sertraline for my depression, but I didn’t get on with them, so I came off them. I also went through talk therapy with the NHS but it didn’t help. My work partner too suffered from depression.
Worse still, I’ve been really worried that people see me as racist, especially as I have a black son myself. He is my partner’s first child – we have another two boys together – but I raise him as my own. How can people call me racist and spread it all over the internet and face no repercussions? The whole world thought me a racist. I had to change my social media accounts and the office was receiving threats, even from America, where the Black Lives Matter movement is bigger.
I’ve also been really worried that my children would see me as unemployed and idle – when working has always been a huge part of my life.
I’ve been a security guard for five years, working across most of the shops in the city. It felt like I’ve found my calling and I liked helping people and feeling like I was an asset to the community.
But in the past two years before the incident, shoplifting had become out of control – it’s now at a record high – and the police were so underfunded that we were always left in the lurch.
We would radio them but half the time no one ever answered. The town was getting uncontrollable and we were the only security there as shops didn’t have their own private teams.
Mainly the shoplifters would be kids in hoodies or the homeless community. But they could also be women with pushchairs. It was a broad demographic.
Part of it was the cost of living crisis, but I feel that since lockdown everyone feels they can get away with whatever they want. It was common for teens to jump over the counter at Co-op to steal tobacco.
In the past year alone, I know about six shopkeepers who have closed up because they can’t cope with the trouble, threat and the level of antisocial behaviour they face each day.
Thankfully, I never encountered much violence. A former colleague worked at Flannels and they had a raid where £10,000 of coats were stolen. But mine was mostly dealing with petty thieves.
Many would leave the store if I called the police – even though I knew they wouldn’t answer. I only ever had to detain two or three people, who just refused to leave without stolen goods – and one of them was this boy.
Do I blame him? Not really. We can all be young and stupid. But I do worry about how society is, and how people can get away with this.
Thankfully, much of my ordeal is over. The jury took about 30 minutes to find us innocent. I am waiting for court papers and then I can get my security guard badge back again and start work.
Many companies in town, I know, want me and my partner back. But I may avoid the city shops and try to work as a doorman instead. I am trying to feel confident about it but to be honest, I don’t know how I will feel on my first shift.
To me, there has been no justice because there has been no repercussions for the boy and his mother who accused us, and no apology from the bosses who dropped us. But I have to move on as I do want my life back.
What would I do, however, if I saw another black youngster shoplifting? Would I detain them? I doubt it. And the police won’t be there either. So no one will stop them. And that’s sadly now the society in which we live.
As told to Gwyneth Rees
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