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A new ‘vigilante’ volunteer patrol group in Bournemouth was established by an organiser of anti-asylum hotel protests and is being fronted by a recent Reform UK council candidate.
Safeguard Force, a vigilante-style volunteer group patrolling the streets of Bournemouth, with a view to preventing crime, launched its first patrol on Monday 11 August.
The group claims to have no political affiliation or objective. A post on the group’s Facebook page from 30 July stated: “We are the community — doing this for the community. This is not about politics or headlines. It’s about real people standing up for real safety.”
However, Byline Times can reveal that one of Safeguard Force’s founders, Gary Bartlett, a Dorset-based small businessman, helped organise protests against asylum seeker hotels and moderates a Facebook group containing Islamophobic and anti-migrant posts in which he asked for support for Safeguard Force. And a key spokesperson for the group stood for Reform this February.
Bartlett is the admin, alongside a handful of others, of ‘Taking Back Our Country’, a Facebook group which organises nationalist and anti-migrant protests in Dorset.
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In the group, Bartlett promoted a protest on 9th August against the Roundhouse and Britannia hotels in Bournemouth, used to house asylum seekers, stating, “join us for a peaceful protest outside the Roundhouse and Britannia hotel as we stand together against illegal migrants being housed in our town.”
Another post from Bartlett on 20th July read: “You can’t call yourself a protester if you never attend a protest. Typing from the sofa does nothing […] the fight needs bodies, not just keyboard warriors.”
Bartlett also promoted a protest against “illegal immigration” in August 2024 and shared a clip from UKIP leader and far-right agitator Nick Tenconi, in which UKIP activists demonstrating in Bournemouth in April demanded mass deportations. Tenconi was recently accused of performing a Nazi salute at a protest.
Other posts in the Taking Back Our Country Group included two from Bartlett of AI generated images of machine guns attached to a pedalo and a coin-operated tourist telescope on the white cliffs of Dover, as well a meme with the caption “last time Muslims invaded Europe Vlad stuck poles up their asses and made a fucking forest. Be like Vlad.”
Another post on the page (not by Bartlett) included a photo of Arab children holding guns with the caption “just remember when the time comes… while you were teaching your children to be tolerant of others [sic] beliefs. These people were training theirs in how to kill yours.”
Bartlett asked for support for Safeguard Force in Taking Back Our Country ahead of its launch.
Byline Times can also reveal that a key spokesperson for the group stood in a recent council election for Reform UK.
Glowing Coverage
On 8th August, Martin Daubney of GB News interviewed Safeguard Force co-founder Ritchie Wellman, alongside Adam Elcock, who was described by Daubney as a “founding member” and “supporter” of Safeguard Force.
Elcock was previously interviewed by interviewed by GB News on 9th August at a protest against an asylum seeker hotel. The writeup of the interview on the GB News website describes Elcock as simply a “Bournemouth local.”
He was also interviewed by Martin Daubney on GB News on 21st July about migrant crime in Bournemouth in his capacity “as a local and an army veteran”, with no indication given that he had a party-political affiliation.
Elcock stood as a councillor for Reform UK in February for the ward of Bransgore, Burley, Sopley & Ringwood East Ward near Bournemouth.
Safeguard Force has also received positive coverage from TalkTV. TalkTV presenter and former Brexit Party MEP Alex Phillips told Ritchie Wellman: “I very much salute you and your defence of your local town”, before going on to ask Mike Neville, a former detective who supports Safeguard Force: “What do you think of vigilantism, is this what’s going to be necessary actually, to safeguard our communities?”
On Safeguard Force, a spokesperson for Stand Up To Racism Bournemouth told Byline Times the group appeared “totally compromised” by far-right views.
“From a background in protests against asylum seeker hotels, to prominent figures supporting Safeguard standing for Reform UK, they have demonstrated they are a political entity.”
They added: “The presence of uniformed civilians acting on ideological motives risks fostering division and fear, rather than safety.”
Police Warning
On Safeguard Force’s Facebook page, the group claims that “we work alongside the police, not as a replacement” and that “the police are not in a position to fully endorse us yet, they have made it clear that they are open to continued discussions.”
Superintendent Pete Browning, of Dorset Police, said: “Dorset Police is aware of a group of volunteers operating under the title of ‘Safeguard Force’ who are carrying out uniformed patrols in Bournemouth. While the group hadn’t engaged with us before launching, we have since reached out to them and had discussions about their plans, policies and processes.”
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Safeguard Force claims that volunteers require a DBS check. After Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council refused to endorse the group, Bartlett said: “All our volunteers have supplied a DBS check and have gone through an interview process before being allowed to join Safeguard Force. All members patrolling have no unspent convictions to our knowledge.”
Superintendent Browning said: “We continue to engage with the organisers and will be joining a partnership group meeting alongside other emergency service colleagues and local authority partners around concerns we have in relation to their operating model, vetting processes, equipment carried, training provided and safeguarding policies”.
He added: “We are not in a position to support or endorse the group or their activities at this time and will continue to engage with the organiser to ensure that they operate within the law. We would encourage members of the public to continue to report any crimes or incidents to us so they can be fully investigated.”
The senior police official also reminded locals that “there are existing voluntary roles including the Special Constabulary, street pastors and various watch schemes available where members of the public can make a difference to their communities.”
“These roles ensure that volunteers are appropriately vetted, trained and tasked in accordance with the law.”
The local Daily Echo reported that both Bournemouth Labour MPs criticised the group. Bournemouth West MP Jessica Toale said on 9th August: “It is not the job of a self-appointed, unregulated group – with a range of experience levels and different motivations – to take it upon themselves to don a makeshift uniform and patrol our streets. There is a real danger of abuse of artificial power here and it is confusing for residents and visitors”.
Safeguard Force was contacted for comment. Byline Times also attempted to contact Bartlett through the email address of his business. We will update this article with their responses.
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