Peckham cop in 60s with strong community links won’t retire despite eighteen years in the force

 By Tom Hussey

He’s the Peckham cop that won’t stop.

PC John Ajagun, who is in his 60s, has no intention of hanging up his hat after having his retirement postponed by two years due to his strong community links and work ethic.

And in a career spanning 18 years, PC John can still be found riding his bicycle on patrols through Peckham, executing search warrants and building trust between the public and the MET.

John said: “Policing is not about arresting people all the time, it’s more than that, it’s about building trust and working with the community.

“I say to myself, look, go and join these people and see exactly what is happening.

“My starting point was to visit churches and to reach out to all the hard-to -reach members of the community, what I’m doing is starting these conversations and speaking to the people that matter.”

Originally from Nigeria, John came to the UK in the 1980’s and took work as a statistics teacher at a college.

It was there that he noticed the gap between local communities and the police which motivated him to join the force in 2002 with the plan to build understanding between these groups and make a positive impact on South London communities.

John said: “Society has changed a huge amount over the time I’ve been policing.

“In 2002 in Peckham there was a high concentration of those resentful of police who had lost confidence from suffering injustice, who needed engaging with and pacifying.

“Twenty years-ago we would never have felt welcome to go into the local residents’ houses, but now from years of policing the specific ward, building up trust and relationships, they feel free to ask questions of us, to approach us and say ‘please come and help me with my son or my daughter.’”

But, like all bobbies, there are the good days but there are also the sad days, John said: “For me no doubt the hardest part is delivering ‘death messages.’

“The sense of emptiness and hopelessness you leave behind when you have communicated with the family about their loved one. It can be a very depressing experience.”

But there are good days too, and there is one story in particular that stands out, John said: “One day a long time ago when I was young and naive in service, I was an operator in a van that was going to be used to drive a man who’d just been arrested to custody.

“I was just standing by the van when the prisoner suddenly attacked me, he spat in my face and called me a ‘black traitor’.

“He was very abusive and aggressive, refusing to get in the van. He was the same colour as me – it was very demoralising to be humiliated like that in my chosen profession just for doing a job.

“However, after we got to custody he did end up apologising for having been violent and his mother came and we embraced.

“He ended up becoming a good friend – and 15 years on we still are.”

Central to John’s policing outlook is striking a balance and building trust in communities. He said: “I personally believe that training should be focused equally on the prevention side as the enforcement side – arresting criminals – and when young officers join the job that should be just as much an aspiration for them.

“Trust matters because we need people to trust us, London is one of the most multicultural societies in the world, people come from all walks of life and we need to accommodate them, the only way we can do this is training.”

In his spare time PC John can be found preaching at his Reedeemed Pentecostal Church.

He also attends Sunday church services where he holds strong links with African churches and can also be found going to mosques, learning about their culture first hand and has become a friendly face within multiple communities.

He also takes the opportunity whenever he can to speak to young people on a range of subjects from knife crime to domestic violence to stop and search to try and help guide them onto the right path

Above all, John is proud to be a copper, he said: “The job makes me so proud. I’m given the opportunity to serve and I know how supportive the job is. I’m proud to be a member of the Met family”

Asked what his favourite area in Peckham is, he said: “All of it really but central Peckham truly is like a second home for me – the schools, the churches, the playgrounds parks and shops.

“Sometimes people say how can you walk around at night etc. feeling safe on your own? And I reply I feel totally protected and safe, as this is home to me!”

Inspector Tom Cornish who works with John said: “It’s a pleasure and a privilege working with John.  “His enthusiasm and professionalism lift the whole team and he knows Peckham like the back of his hand. It’s so impressive that an officer in his 60s is still involved in front line policing with such passion.”