AFTER nearly eight decades of combined service as members of law enforcement, Colonel Stanley Perumal and Captain Shaun Inarmal from Umblio SAPS Police Station are set to retire from the force.
Fifty-eight-year-old Perumal has been a member of law enforcement for 38 years and says he has served his purpose, starting at Umbilo SAPS Police Station seven years ago. “I served my purpose, especially here at Umbilo Police Station. We brought this station from one of the poorest-performing stations to one of the best. I came to this station in 2017, and this station was one of the worst performing stations nationally. It was a high-crime-generating station. We are now one of the best-performing stations in the district. In order to turn this station around, we had to start internally – the atmosphere of the station was very negative, and the morale was low. We began to support our officers and acknowledge their good performance. We also brought prayer into the station, which brought positivity into the place.”
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Perumal says that the Umbilo CPF has also helped Umbilo become a safer area. “I must also mention the Umbilo CPF – they help us to improve our service, and they bring us positive and constructive criticism, and our members have formed a great relationship with the CPF. The CPF even gave each of our police officers mugs, with the SAPS and CPF logos on them, when they saw that we were drinking out of plastic cups, so the CPF really does help brighten our day and helps us to get the job done.”
Perumal said there’s a time and a season for everything, and it’s time for him to hand over the baton to the next generation. “I joined the service on April 29, 1986. I spent six month in college, and my first police station was Sydenham Police Station as a constable – I spent three years there. Then I was transferred to Bayview SAPS in Chatsworth – I spent 14 years there, starting out as a constable and ending my time there as a captain. I then spent 14 years at Montclair SAPS and finally landed at Umbilo SAPS in 2017. My goal at every police station I worked at was always to build and to improve.”
“I’m looking forward to spending more time with my family – I’ve taken a lot of time away from them in the last 38 years. I’m excited to spend time with my grandchildren and look forward to things like taking my grandson to school, growing old with my wife and travelling. I must thank God for my health and for leaving the service with my health. I’m a complete person – just slightly older. I could’ve been injured, shot or killed during my time as a police officer, so I thank God for protecting me,” said Perumal.
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Focus on fitness and family
Captain Shaun Inarmal has been a police officer for 37 years and came to Umbilo SAPS in 2020.
“I started my service on December 14, 1987. I worked predominantly at Durban Central Police Station in Support Services. One of my priorities after I retire will be exercise – I think I neglected that during my working career, and it did catch up to me with a few health scares, so I’d like to focus on my fitness a lot more,” said Inarmal.
Inarmal says that he’s also looking forward to spending quality time with his daughter. “My wife passed away in 2004, and I was left with my 10-year-old daughter, and I had to be both her mother and father. Today, she’s 29, and she’s writing her PhD and lecturing at Howard College. She’s my greatest achievement – my goal was to make sure she was independent, and she has grown up to be a wonderful woman who makes me very proud. I look forward to spending more time with her especially.”
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