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

chief inspector Chief inspector (Ch Insp) is a rank used in police forces which follow the British model. In countries outside Britain, it is sometimes referred to as chief inspector of police (CIP). Usage by country Australia The rank of chief inspector is use ...

in the

Aruba Police Force The Aruba Police Force (Dutch: ''Korps Politie Aruba'' or ''KPA'', Papiamento: ''Cuerpo Policial Aruba'') is the law enforcement agency of Aruba. The force operates under the authority of the Minister of Justice and Social Affairs. History In 1 ...

. She was honored on 19 June 2012 by the

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

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

human trafficking Human trafficking is the trade of humans for the purpose of forced labour, sexual slavery, or commercial sexual exploitation for the trafficker or others. This may encompass providing a spouse in the context of forced marriage, or the extrac ...

. 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 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 of other n ...

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 (; nl, Papiaments) is a Portuguese-based creole language spoken in the Dutch Caribbean. It is the most widely spoken language on the Caribbean ABC islands (Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao), with official status in Arub ...

and

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

) targeted at locals and tourists. By advocating to the

Dutch government The politics of the Netherlands take place within the framework of a parliamentary representative democracy, a constitutional monarchy, and a decentralised unitary state.''Civil service systems in Western Europe'' edited by A. J. G. M. Bekke, ...

, 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 ( nl, Land Aruba; pap, Pais Aruba) is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands physically located in the mid-south of the Caribbean Sea, about north of the Venezuela peninsula of ...

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

Citations

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Richardson-Baars, Jeannette Aruban women in politics Women police officers Living people Year of birth missing (living people)