Jeanette Richardson-Baars is the Director of the Aruba Police Academy, holding the rank of chief inspector in the

Aruba Police Force The Aruba Police Force ( Dutch: ''Korps Politie Aruba'' or ''KPA'', Papiamento: ''Cuerpo Policial Aruba'') is the main law enforcement branch of Aruba. The force operates under the authority of the Minister of Justice. the force is headed by the Ch ...

. She was honored on 19 June 2012 by the

U.S. Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs o ...

with the annual Trafficking in Persons report for her efforts in combating

human trafficking Human trafficking is the act of recruiting, transporting, transferring, harboring, or receiving individuals through force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of exploitation. This exploitation may include forced labor, sexual slavery, or oth ...

. This prestigious award is designed to raise public awareness of modern-day slavery and in 2012, had only been awarded to 110 people worldwide.

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy of the United State ...

When she heard of the award, Richardson-Baars said "It is an Aruba TIP Task Force team effort. I could not be regarded a hero without a great team".

Work in fighting human trafficking

Working without a budget, Mrs. Richardson-Baars used her personal computer to design posters in several languages (primarily

Papiamento Papiamento () or Papiamentu (; ) is a Portuguese-based creole language spoken in the Dutch Caribbean. It is the most widely spoken language on Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao ( ABC Islands). The language, spelled in Aruba and in Bonaire and ...

and

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

) targeted at locals and tourists. By advocating to the

Dutch government The Netherlands is a parliamentary representative democracy. A constitutional monarchy, the country is organised as a decentralised unitary state.''Civil service systems in Western Europe'' edited by A. J. G. M. Bekke, Frits M. Meer, Edward E ...

, she was able to obtain a nationwide memorandum that allowed victims of human trafficking to be given refuge off the island of

Aruba Aruba, officially the Country of Aruba, is a constituent island country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, in the southern Caribbean Sea north of the Venezuelan peninsula of Paraguaná Peninsula, Paraguaná and northwest of Curaçao. In 19 ...

. Richardson-Baars, through the inter-agency committee to which she was vital, uncovered sex trafficking and slave labor activity.

Citations

External links

*
Aruba Coordination Center Human Trafficking & Smuggling
{{DEFAULTSORT:Richardson-Baars, Jeannette Aruban women in politics Women police officers 21st-century police officers Living people Year of birth missing (living people)