THE FINAL SALUTE TO SSP PAULETTE "PINKY" GREEN

My people, today I want to speak about something that goes far beyond a funeral.

Today we are talking about service.

We are talking about sacrifice.

We are talking about the journey of a Jamaican woman who joined the Jamaica Constabulary Force, accepted the responsibilities that came with wearing that uniform, climbed through the organization's leadership structure, and ultimately attained the senior rank of Senior Superintendent of Police.

Her name was Paulette Green.

But throughout the police family, she was affectionately known as:

"Pinky."

And today, I want Jamaican Young Police viewers around Jamaica and throughout the diaspora to understand that when we say farewell to an officer, we should never reduce that person's life to the final photograph.

There was a journey before that photograph.

There were years before those senior superintendent's insignia.

There were assignments.

There were investigations.

There were difficult decisions.

There were telephone calls.

There were meetings.

Families were looking for answers.

Junior officers looked for guidance.

And there was an institution demanding leadership.

That is the story we must remember.

THE WOMAN BEHIND THE RANK

Today, Jamaican Young Police pauses from the arguments, the controversies, the crime stories and the politics to pay respect to a woman who gave a significant part of her life to the service of Jamaica.

Senior Superintendent of Police Paulette "Pinky" Green.

When you look at this photograph, don't simply look at the uniform.

Look at the journey behind the uniform.

Look at the years of responsibility.

Look at the woman who climbed through the ranks of the Jamaica Constabulary Force and eventually wore the rank of Senior Superintendent of Police.

Public records give us glimpses of that journey.

As far back as 2009, Paulette Green was publicly identified as a Deputy Superintendent of Police serving with the National Investigation Bureau. And she wasn't speaking about something trivial. She was addressing the heartbreaking problem of Jamaica's missing children and reminding Jamaicans that when a child disappears, the police investigation begins immediately.

By 2016, she was a Superintendent, participating in international training connected to missing-children investigations alongside law-enforcement and child-protection professionals.

She continued rising.

In 2024, Commissioner Dr Kevin Blake assigned SSP Paulette Green to Area 4 Headquarters, placing her within senior JCF leadership.

Then, in the JCF's 2025 strategic leadership reassignments, she was transferred to Area 3 Headquarters, the policing area encompassing Manchester, Clarendon and St Elizabeth.

When news of her passing came in August 2026, the Jamaica Constabulary Force described Pinky Green as a dedicated officer, a valued member of the Area 3 team, and a strong pillar of support to her colleagues and the wider organization.

Ladies and gentlemen, ranks are printed on uniforms.

But respect is earned.

Buildings will change. Commanders will change. Police stations will change.

But the service a dedicated police officer gives to her Country becomes part of the institution's history.

So today, from one member of the policing family to another, I say:

Senior Superintendent Paulette "Pinky" Green, your tour of duty has ended.

You served.

You led.

You rose through the ranks.

And now Jamaica prepares to say goodbye.

Rest well, Pinky.

Your duty is done—but your service will not be forgotten.

One problem with looking at senior police officers is that people see the final rank and sometimes forget that nobody walks through the gate of a police station on their first day wearing the rank of Senior Superintendent.

You have to travel a road.

You have to build experience.

You have to accept responsibility.

And the public record lets us trace important parts of Pinky Green's journey.

As far back as November 2009, the Jamaica Gleaner identified Paulette Green as a Deputy Superintendent of Police attached to the National Investigation Bureau.

Think about what that tells us.

This was not somebody who suddenly appeared in senior management.

By 2009, she was already operating at a significant supervisory level in the JCF.

And the issue she was addressing would break the heart of any parent:

missing children.

At the time, Jamaica was confronting disturbing numbers of children being reported missing.

Paulette Green publicly explained something extremely important: families should not believe that they must wait 24 hours before reporting a missing child.

Her message was that investigations commence immediately.

That tells us something about the type of policing work associated with her career.

This was not only about guns, roadblocks and arrests.

This was about vulnerable people.

This was about children.

This was about families desperately waiting for somebody to come home.

And anybody who has ever worked in law enforcement understands the pressure behind those investigations.

When somebody's child disappears, that mother doesn't care that you have twenty other investigations.

That is her child.

That father doesn't care how much paperwork is sitting on your desk.

That is his child.

Every hour matters.

Every lead matters.

Every telephone call matters.

Every piece of information matters.

And Pinky Green was part of that policing environment.

FROM NATIONAL WORK TO INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION

Her involvement in missing-children work didn't simply disappear from the record.

By 2016, an International Center for Missing & Exploited Children publication identified Superintendent Paulette Green of the Jamaica Constabulary Force participating in law-enforcement training involving missing-children investigations.

The initiative brought together law enforcement, NGOs, and other stakeholders and was supported by international partners.

Now look at the progression.

In 2009:

Deputy Superintendent Paulette Green — National Investigation Bureau.

By 2016:

Superintendent Paulette Green.

That is advancement.

That is increased responsibility.

And more importantly, it shows continuity in an area of policing involving some of society's most vulnerable people.

It also shows that her professional experience was valuable enough to place her in an international training environment.

That matters.

Because modern policing cannot exist inside a bubble.

Missing children can cross borders.

Human trafficking can cross borders.

Organized crime crosses borders.

Technology crosses borders.

Evidence crosses borders.

Criminal networks cross borders.

So law-enforcement cooperation has to cross borders too.

Pinky Green's documented participation in that environment forms an important part of the professional legacy she leaves behind.

CONTRIBUTING BEYOND DAILY POLICING

Another part of her career deserves attention.

Paulette Green was also listed as a Jamaica Constabulary Force representative on the committee associated with Jamaica's National Visa Policy.

The government document lists Superintendent Paulette Green — Jamaica Constabulary Force among representatives from agencies including the Ministry of National Security, Passport Immigration and Citizenship Agency, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, JAMPRO and others.

Why is that significant?

Because senior policing isn't merely catching criminals.

Senior policing involves policy.

It involves national security.

It involves immigration considerations.

It involves inter-agency cooperation.

It involves sitting at tables where decisions can eventually affect an entire Country.

And when an officer reaches that level, the uniform represents more than enforcement.

It represents institutional knowledge.

SHE KEPT CLIMBING

Then came another chapter.

By 2024, Paulette Green had attained the rank of Senior Superintendent of Police.

When Commissioner of Police Dr Kevin Blake announced significant JCF leadership changes effective April 2, 2024, SSP Paulette Green was assigned to Area 4 Headquarters.

That placement matters because Area 4 encompasses some of the most challenging policing environments in Jamaica.

At that stage of her career, Pinky was no longer merely developing as an officer.

She was part of the senior leadership machinery of the Jamaica Constabulary Force.

And young police officers should learn something from that.

You don't have to remain where you started.

A constable can become a corporal.

A corporal can become a sergeant.

A sergeant can become an inspector.

An inspector can continue climbing.

But every promotion brings something people don't always discuss:

greater responsibility.

More rank does not mean fewer problems.

It usually means everybody else's problems eventually arrive on your desk.

That is leadership.

AREA 3 — ANOTHER CHAPTER

At the beginning of 2025, the JCF announced another series of strategic leadership reassignments.

SSP Paulette Green moved from Area 4 Headquarters to Area 3 Headquarters.

Area 3 encompasses Manchester, Clarendon and St Elizabeth.

There is something particularly moving about seeing St Elizabeth connected with the closing chapter of her service, because the funeral announcement now tells us her final farewell will also take place in St Elizabeth.

According to the family's announcement, the funeral service is scheduled for Sunday, September 13, 2026, at 11:00 AM at Bull Savannah Seventh-day Adventist Church, followed by interment at the family plot in Lititz District, St Elizabeth.

There is something almost poetic about that.

A senior officer who served Area 3 will make her final journey in St Elizabeth.

STILL SERVING IN 2026

And Pinky wasn't merely carrying a title.

As recently as June 2026, a report on a community gospel concert in Manchester identified Senior Superintendent Paulette Green as the administrative officer for Area 3.

She was present alongside other senior JCF leadership at an event that brought police, churches, musicians and the community together.

That detail matters because it shows another side of policing.

Community engagement.

Police officers cannot arrest their way out of every social problem.

Sometimes policing means sitting with residents.

Sometimes it means visiting schools.

Sometimes it means supporting community programs.

Sometimes it means standing inside a church rather than behind a police barricade.

Good policing requires enforcement when enforcement is necessary.

But it also requires relationships.

THEN CAME THE NEWS

On August 7, 2026, Jamaica received the sad news.

The Jamaica Constabulary Force was mourning the passing of Senior Superintendent Paulette Green.

Acting Area 3 Commander ACP Shane McCalla confirmed her death to members of the division.

And the words used to describe her are worth remembering.

She was described as a dedicated officer.

A valued member of the Area 3 team.

And a strong pillar of support to her colleagues and the wider organization.

My people, stop right there.

A pillar of support.

You cannot manufacture that description with rank.

People can salute your rank because regulations require them to.

But when colleagues remember you as someone who supported them, that speaks to something deeper.

Because policing is difficult.

Officers go through problems nobody knows about.

Family problems.

Financial problems.

Traumatic incidents.

Investigations that stay in their minds after the shift ends.

Scenes they cannot forget.

And sometimes another officer needs somebody senior to say:

"I understand."

Leadership is not always shouting instructions.

Sometimes leadership is listening.

Sometimes leadership is encouraging somebody.

Sometimes leadership is protecting the integrity of an investigation.

Sometimes leadership is telling a young constable:

"You made a mistake. Correct it and learn from it."

And sometimes leadership means being that pillar when somebody else feels like falling.

WHAT DOES A POLICE CAREER REALLY COST?

Now I want the civilians watching me to think about something.

When somebody joins the police force, the public sees the uniform.

The family experiences the sacrifice.

The public sees the promotion.

The family remembers the missed occasions.

The public sees the police vehicle.

The family knows about the late-night telephone calls.

The public sees the officer standing strong.

The family sometimes sees that same officer exhausted.

And that is why, whenever an officer completes a long career of service, we should acknowledge not only the individual but the people who stood behind that individual.

Because service has a cost.

A MESSAGE TO YOUNG FEMALE OFFICERS

I particularly want young female members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force to look at Pinky Green's career.

Look at the progression documented publicly:

Deputy Superintendent.

Superintendent.

Senior Superintendent.

National Investigation Bureau.

Missing-children work.

International law-enforcement cooperation.

National policy participation.

Area headquarters leadership.

Area 3 administration.

That is a professional journey.

And in an organization historically associated with men, every woman who climbs into senior command demonstrates to another generation that leadership is not restricted by gender.

You can lead.

You can investigate.

You can command.

You can sit at the national-policy table.

You can represent Jamaica internationally.

You can earn senior rank.

But understand this:

The uniform will give you authority.

Character determines what you do with it.

THE MEANING OF THE UNIFORM

I know something about wearing that uniform.

A police uniform is cloth.

But once you put it on, society attaches enormous expectations to it.

People expect courage.

People expect honesty.

People expect discipline.

People expect fairness.

And sometimes the public expects police officers to be superhuman.

But behind every badge is a human being.

Behind every rank is somebody's daughter.

Somebody's sister.

Somebody's mother.

Somebody's friend.

Somebody's colleague.

And eventually, every police officer—regardless of rank—must take off that uniform for the final time.

That is why the question is never:

What rank did you achieve?

The greater question is:

What did you do while you had the opportunity to serve?

THE LEGACY

And when we examine the publicly documented career of Paulette "Pinky" Green, we can point to real things.

We can point to her involvement in missing-children investigations.

We can point to her progression through senior ranks.

We can point to international professional training.

We can point to national policy participation.

We can point to leadership assignments at Area 4 and Area 3.

And we can point to the testimony of the Jamaica Constabulary Force itself, which remembered her as dedicated and as a pillar of support.

Those aren't rumors.

Those are documented parts of the record.

And that is the kind of record worth preserving.

SEPTEMBER 13 — THE FINAL JOURNEY

On Sunday, September 13, 2026, family members, friends, police officers, colleagues and well-wishers will gather at the Bull Savannah Seventh-day Adventist Church in St Elizabeth.

There will be memories.

There will be tears.

There will probably be stories that never appeared in any newspaper.

Stories from police stations.

Stories from colleagues.

Stories from friends.

Stories from family members who knew Pinky long before Jamaica knew SSP Green.

And after the service, she will be taken to the family plot in Lititz District, St Elizabeth, for interment.

The ceremonial part will eventually end.

People will leave.

Vehicles will drive away.

Uniforms will return to police stations.

The next shift will begin.

The JCF will continue.

Because institutions must continue.

But somebody will be missing.

And that is when the reality of loss becomes deepest.

MY FINAL MESSAGE

To the family of Senior Superintendent Paulette "Pinky" Green:

Your loss belongs first and foremost to you.

Jamaica knew the police officer.

You knew the person.

Jamaica knew the rank.

You knew the woman behind it.

Jamaica saw the uniform.

You knew the sacrifices required to wear it.

And therefore, while the police family mourns one of its senior officers, we recognize that your grief is deeper and more personal.

To the members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force who worked alongside her:

Remember the good lessons.

Pass them down.

That is how institutional memory survives.

To the young policewoman wondering whether she can one day reach senior command:

Look at the journey.

Keep studying.

Keep developing yourself.

Maintain your integrity.

Respect the public.

Respect the uniform.

And understand that promotion should never merely increase the number of people who salute you.

Promotion should increase the number of people you can help.

And finally, to Senior Superintendent Paulette "Pinky" Green:

You reached the end of your earthly tour.

The radio will no longer call for you.

There will be no more briefings.

No more transfers.

No more Force Orders announcing another assignment.

No more administrative meetings.

No more reports waiting on the desk.

Your final shift has ended.

But the record remains.

From the National Investigation Bureau...

to work involving Jamaica's missing children...

to international law-enforcement cooperation...

to national policy...

to Area 4...

to Area 3...

and ultimately to the memories of the men and women who served beside you.

That is a journey worthy of recognition.

So on behalf of the Jamaican Young Police, I extend sincere condolences to her family, friends, colleagues and the entire Jamaica Constabulary Force.

And today we don't simply say that a police officer died.

We say:

A Jamaican policewoman served.

A leader rose through the ranks.

A colleague became a pillar of support.

And a chapter of the Jamaica Constabulary Force has closed.

Senior Superintendent Paulette **"Pinky" Green:

Rest in peace.

Rest with dignity.

Your tour of duty is complete.

And may your years of service remain part of the history and institutional memory of the Jamaica Constabulary Force.

FINAL SALUTE, SSP PAULETTE "PINKY" GREEN.

GONE—BUT NOT FORGOTTEN.