James uses his expertise as a former shoplifter to advise retailers on the best layout of their stores, where products should be placed on the shelves, and security features to deter people before an offence is committed.
After starting his recovery in the West Midlands, James continued his journey in Nottinghamshire alongside other offenders who have also successfully completed the scheme and give back to businesses in both counties to remove them from negative influences.
James also speaks with business leaders, retail staff, and security teams to inform them how their actions can deter shoplifters and what behaviour to be aware of to avoid being harmed.
After starting his recovery in the West Midlands, James continued his journey in Nottinghamshire alongside other offenders who have also successfully completed the scheme and give back to businesses in both counties to remove them from negative influences.
James also speaks with business leaders, retail staff, and security teams to inform them how their actions can deter shoplifters and what behaviour to be aware of to avoid being harmed.
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00:00My first experience with drugs was waking up with a cloud of smoke, confused, giggling,
00:07wearing a laugh. And I can remember clearly, I think I was about six or seven, that was
00:13more like my first exposure to drugs. First of all, I'm a recovering addict and I'm on
00:21this journey of rehabilitation not only from drugs but from crime. People don't imply
00:27that I'm an addict. So I couldn't maintain a job, all I could do was commit crime. And
00:34my crime, the crimes I had committed would vary. It was all linked to drugs, it was all
00:39to fun and having fun. It could vary from shoplifting to stealing cars. So the business
00:47side of my job is I'll also go and do walk around businesses and if I can try and stop
00:53a shop assistant from tackling someone that could possibly hurt them, I don't want to
00:57see that hard on someone. So I'll talk to them and I'll tell them the signs to look
01:01out for if someone's like that and I'll give them advice of how they can deter people before
01:06they've even committed an offence, so you know, what it's like. I was told that the
01:12best chance I had of staying clean was by helping people, so I just threw myself into
01:18helping businesses, helping people who suffer with addiction and it sort of shows me that
01:24people see the change and people want to support you and people want to help you out and then
01:29in turn, if they can see the change in me, they might be more likely to help somebody
01:34else who's struggling with addiction. So yeah, it's really rewarding, it gives me purpose
01:39as well.