Dutch Kingdom Police Officers Complete Training At School Of Justice

When Jaire Antonia was seven, he witnessed a police officer in his homeland of Curaçao belittle an elderly man after he violated a traffic law. 

“The way that police officer talked to that man, I said, ‘I want to be part of that force to make it better,’” Antonia said. 

For the past 27 years, Antonia has done just that, serving as a police officer on the island.  

Last month, he was one of 10 officers from the Dutch Kingdom islands of Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten and Bonaire to participate in a two-week professional development program held at the School of Justice at North Campus to refine the officers’ skills.

From Oct. 16 through Oct. 27, the officers completed three courses that concentrated on traffic stops, surveillance vehicle techniques and basic vehicle operations.

“To us, this is very important, the fact that we are here in the U.S.,” said Antonia, who serves as a police officer inspector and a member of the SWAT team in Curaçao. “First of all, you have 300 million people. In Curacao, [there are about] 150,000. So, hands down, [the U.S.] has more experience, more cases, all those years of development. It’s not a smart thing to be in a box. You know, sometimes you have to go outside of your comfort zone, out of the box, and here we are in the U.S. to see how it can be done.”

To comply with law enforcement standards set by the Dutch Kingdom, police forces in the region must undergo yearly refresher courses in skills such as apprehending suspects, determining when to use physical force, shooting, driving and working with technology.

The courses the officers took at North Campus consisted of lectures in the School of Justice courtroom and on-site practice at locations such as the driving track adjacent to building 9. Classes ran from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Upon completion of the program, a ceremony was held at the Science Complex on Oct. 27. Because the officers are international, they can’t be certified by the State of Florida, but they received certificates of completion.

“This speaks to our institution—our School of Justice, our instructors and the reputation that we have, not only here in the State of Florida, but internationally with other police forces,” said Veronica Gonzalez, the associate director of the School of Justice’s assessment center who coordinated the program.

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