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November 19, 2020  |  By Marisol Marín In News

JJAI EXPRESSES CONCERN ABOUT SUICIDE ATTEMPTS AT THE PUERTO RICO DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION AND REHABILITATION (DCR in Spanish)

Mental health of every child in detention must be guaranteed so they can successfully reintegrate into society. The state must aid youth who go through its detention centers with positive, developmentally appropriate care.

Recently, the dangerous situation unraveling inside the Department of Correction and Rehabilitation (DCR) of Puerto Rico came to our attention, where several young people have attempted suicide.

The pandemic has exacerbated the situation in various parts of the world and even reduced health and education services within the prisons that should assist the emotional well-being of the people inside of them. Nonetheless, this is not an excuse to neglect the children detained in these facilities; people who must have their human rights guaranteed.

Our Response to COVID-19: https://www.jjadvocates.org/COVID19/

“Even before extreme measures were taken due to COVID-19, the system tells these young people that they are disposable. It should not come as a surprise that they now believe that to be true”, Douglas Keillor, executive director of Juvenile Justice Advocates International commented in this regard.

“The government has completely failed to protect these children from a mental crisis that was totally predictable as one of the effects of the pandemic during their confinement. Radical and immediate measures are urgently needed to save live”, added Mr. Keillor.

Mrs. Athelyn Jiménez Emmanuelli, a lawyer specialized in juvenile justice matters, said in an interview for Microjuris media that the services to the adolescent population of the detention centers should not be stopped or hindered under any circumstances.

She also mentioned during this interview that from the beginning of July to the end of September, a total of 23 young people – out of a population of almost 100 minors in custody – were hospitalized for threatening against their own health and remarked that not even one case of a child attempting against themselves should have occurred to figure out that something bad was happening with these teenagers.

That is why, as an organization, we demand that the authorities act accordingly and expeditiously, so that the children under their protection feel assured that the authorities must and will provide them the help necessary to prevent irreparable tragedy.

Call to action:

  • The United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico orders the release of youth whose mental health cannot be safeguarded in this detention center. 
  • The authorities immediately implement mental health measures to protect all the youth including – access to in-person counselors, access to comprehensive educational and recreational programming, suicide prevention protocols in accordance with local, federal and international standards, access to regular family visits including in-person visits with social distancing, video calls and regular phone calls free of charge. 
  • If the authorities are unable to guarantee these measures, the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico, should order monitoring of the facility utilizing internationally-recognized standards to guarantee the protection of youth (such as the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Juvenile Detention Facility Assessment).
  • If authorities are unable to guarantee the safety of youth in this facility, the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico should close the facility in the best interest of the youth.
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Webinar on COVID-19, Humanitaria Crisis for Youth in Detention in Latin America – Spanish only:

https://youtu.be/3MOSFq_hE1M

March 26th Webinar on COVID-19 and Challenges to the Juvenile Justice System in Mexico – Spanish only:

https://youtu.be/52zianCu_3A

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Guerrero

Después de años de lucha y problemas de inseguridad, decidimos en 2022 cerrar nuestro proyecto en Guerrero. Pudimos implementar nuestro instrumento de evaluación previa al juicio para garantizar que los jóvenes de bajo riesgo permanezcan en sus comunidades. Y brindamos apoyo a más de 220 jóvenes, como parte de nuestro proyecto de Movilizando Voluntarios.

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Chiapas

Por invitación del Poder Judicial del Estado de Chiapas, realizamos un estudio para evaluar la viabilidad de implementar nuestros proyectos en la región. En 2022, nuestro equipo presentó los resultados y recomendaciones. El gobierno estatal ahora está decidiendo cómo quieren colaborar con nosotros en el futuro.

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Guerrero

After years of struggle and security issues, we decided in 2022 to close our project in Guerrero. We were able to implement our pretrial screening instrument to ensure low-risk youth stay in their communities. And we provided support to over 220 youths, as part of our Mobilize and Empower project.

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Chiapas

In the state of Chiapas, at the invitation of the state judiciary, we conducted a study to assess the viability of implementing our projects. In 2022, our team presented the results and recommendations. The state government is now deciding how they want to collaborate with us in the future.

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CDMX

Vista como líder nacional en las prácticas del sistema de justicia, la Ciudad de México tiene más adolescentes en detención que cualquier otra jurisdicción. Sin embargo, también ha desarrollado una unidad de seguimiento en libertad con numerosas alianzas con organizaciones. Nuestros proyectos fortalecerán esta área crítica.

JJI está trabajando en la Ciudad de México desde dos vertientes. En Alternativas a la Detención con un monitoreo que comenzó en 2019, pero por causas sanitarias y la pandemia por COVID, se retomó dos años después con un equipo de especialistas el cual ya está preparándose para continuar la actividad. En Movilizando voluntarios, se continúa con los esfuerzos para reunir a más adolescentes con sus familias, gracias al apoyo: “Reunificación familiar”. Así como también se han realizado entrega de enseres en los 6 centros.

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Durango

A pesar de tener un número menor de adolescentes en el sistema de justicia, Durango es una jurisdicción que busca la mejora continua. Durango es el primer estado donde tanto el poder judicial como el ejecutivo han firmado convenios de colaboración para la implementación de nuestros proyectos de Alternativas a la Detención.

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Chihuahua

Chihuahua es nuestro sitio piloto y un estado considerado líder en la reforma penal en México. Nuestros proyectos comenzaron en el 2016. Desde entonces, los tiempos en detención preventiva han disminuido, los adolescentes son supervisados con mayor eficiencia en sus comunidades y se ha mejorado la calidad de vida de aquellos adolescentes que siguen privados de su libertad.

En Chihuahua trabajamos con varios proyectos, como son el monitoreo que se trabaja en conjunto con la autoridad, y con los adolescentes y sus familias trabajamos en talleres, mesas de trabajo, eventos lúdicos, acompañamiento post penal, reubicaciones y traslados de familiares para audiencias y visitas, así como donaciones de enseres, ropa y material deportivo.

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Chihuahua

A national leader in criminal procedural reforms, our pilot project in Chihuahua started in 2016. Since that time the rates and duration of pretrial detention have declined, youth are being successfully supervised in their communities and new programs in the detention center have improved daily life for those children still deprived of liberty.

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CDMX

Looked to as the national leader in youth justice practices, Mexico City has more youth in detention than any other jurisdiction but has also developed a robust probation office and numerous alliances with nonprofits. Our projects will further fortify this critical work.

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Durango

Despite being a smaller jurisdiction, Durango is constantly looking to improve. Durango is the first state where both the Executive Branch and Judicial Branch have signed Memorandum of Understanding to launch the Alternatives to Detention initiatives.

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