He has spent more than 40 years serving the country, but the time has now come for Lt Col Fanie Scanlen to hand over the baton and spend “quality time” with his family.
Scanlen (60) is the outgoing station commander at Kensington Police Station and has proudly served this community for the past six years.
Scanlen joined the police service on 3 December 1979, two days after he wrote his final matric exam, and has not looked back since.
In October last year, he was awarded the 40-year Long Service Award during the Handing Over of the Sword of Command and Medals Ceremony held in Greenpoint (“Called to serve – for 40 years”, People’s Post, 23 November 2021).
On Thursday 31 March, Scanlen will put on his blue uniform for the last time after which he will take a well-deserved break.
When asked whether he is looking forward to his retirement, Scanlen jokingly says: “It’s a scary thought and kind of traumatic to realise that you are 60. I think I am the oldest person in the police force.”
Scanlen says dealing with the daily challenges that come with his job is what has kept him motivated, adding that this is something he will “miss” about the police force.
“The police cannot fail; if we fail the country fails. That’s what kept me motivated. We must constantly be a success story.”
He explains that his colleagues have become like family.
“It is as though I am losing a family now. All these people whom I have worked with for the past five years, it is like leaving a family.”
According to Scanlen, being part of a good team is crucial.
“The things I will miss is when there were (initially) no leads on a murder scene. And then colleagues will assist you in such a way that the murder weapon is found within hours and a suspect is arrested. So teamwork is important.”
He says having to deal with cases where children are involved will always remain one of the hardest tasks for an officer.
“When children are involved it is very traumatic in any crime. Those things you don’t want to keep in your mind.”
Scanlen, who has a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in Police Science and a master’s degree in Theology, says he would now like to shift his attention to ministry.
“I have studied theology for 15 years. My plan is to take the King James Bible and move from a verbal explanation to a visual explanation of the Bible. My plan is to take messages from the Bible and share it on social media. My vision is to become a YouTuber.”
Sharing a message with his colleagues, Scanlen says: “Keep a balance, keep focus. Make time for yourself and identify people that will assist you because this work you can’t do alone. You must understand the principle of any situation. You don’t need to understand the details, just the principle in which you are functioning.”
Scanlen thanks the community of Kensington and encourages them to be “part of the solution” on a day-to-day basis.
“To complain and to find faults is easy but they must be part of the solution.”
The officer says he is grateful for the support from his wife and three children, which, he says, has been crucial throughout his career.
Cheslyn Steenberg, chair of the Kensington Community Policing Forum, wishes Scanlen well on his retirement.
“To have such an incredible man to serve us and end his career with us is quite something remarkable and we thank him. We also wish to express our appreciation to his family for allowing him to serve us even after hours, attending meetings. In him, we have learned a lot of good lessons I believe will take this community forward. We hope that his retirement will be a good one and pray for God’s blessings over him.”
