Adolescents do not perceive freedom in the same way that we do, which is why in the face of a pandemic like that of COVID-19, we have to see not what we think they need, but what they really see as essential, according to Margoth Montaño,Head of the Cenvicruz Legal Area (Program for adolescents with […]
Gerardo Guerrero, Head Consul of the Consulate of Mexico in Saint Paul, Minnesota, was awarded the 2019 Outstanding Advocate for Children In Prison Award on December 6th in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Juvenile Justice Advocates International (JJAI) gives out the award annually to recognize individuals who have done outstanding work to make our vision a reality – […]
Juvenile Justice Advocates International showed the results of the pilot entitled: “Supervision of measures in freedom for adolescents in conflict with the law”, in the Superior Court of Justice of Chihuahua. At the event, it was explained that the tool was carried out on 52 adolescents from different regions of Chihuahua who had non-custodial sanction […]
Sarahi Garcia Martinez – National Project Director for JJI Mexico – shares in La Paz, Bolivia “I must clarify, this has been the experience in Mexico” I kept repeating such statement during my intervention at the International Conference on Restorative Justice for Juveniles in Conflict with the Law in La Paz, Bolivia. Our current statutes […]
“Now we have concrete measures that are more transparent,” said Elizabeth, the juvenile detention center psychologist in Guerrero state. Juvenile Justice Advocates International (JJAI) finished our first training on implementing our Pre-Trial Detention Risk Assessment Instrument in Guerrero last November, making it the first state to fully implement the National Risk Assessment Model adopted last […]
This past week we conducted our first training seminar for juvenile detention center personnel – guards, counselors, social workers and probation officers. We spent a week training them on human rights, prevention of torture, supervising teenagers on release programs and other topics critical for the improvement of Mexico’s juvenile justice system. As we were […]
(Video only available in Spanish) Last September 28th, Congressperson Victor Manuel Sanchez Orozco, of the Movimiento Ciudadano party, presented a legal reform to the National Juvenile Justice System Law in Mexico´s National Congress. Juvenile Justice Advocates has been working with Congressperson Clemente Castañeda Hoeflich and Congressperson Sanchez, this year to improve the juvenile justice system. […]
Special post by Rebecca Rosefelt, our 2017 Summer Intern: I had prepared myself for the worst. Over the year I’d read a variety of articles and stories on prison: stories about inmates who fought for prison education; a journalist who went undercover as a correctional officer; an exposé on visiting relatives who were molested by […]
[:en]The teacher was preparing her lesson when we entered the empty classroom at 9:15 A.M. She had written a few math problems written on the chalkboard. We had brought a group of experts from the United States and we were on an official tour of the juvenile detention center in Chihuahua, Mexico. We started at […]
We drove from Ciudad Juarez on the border with the United States, to the city of Chihuahua, the capital city of the state, in order to continue our Vision Trip. We meet with court officials, non-profits working with teens, and visited the detention center there. (Source: https://www.youtube.com/)
The U.S. funds more police, court, prosecutor and prison development projects around the world than any other funder.
The US is not a party to key human rights treaties governing criminal justice, such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the American Convention on Human Rights despite the fact that nearly every country where the U.S. promotes its practices are parties to these international instruments.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
