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November 21, 2018  |  By Douglas Keillor In News

Welcoming Loretta at Guerrero Juvenile Detention Center

Loretta Taylor – Juvenile Justice Advocate’s Mobilization Coordinator

By Loretta Taylor

On a sunny afternoon, I sat across from 19 year old young man, who I will call Nicólas, at a prison in the State of Guerrero. I was there to interview him about his experience and evaluate if we can offer support in some way. Nicólas, who is currently serving about a four year sentence, shook my hand as he entered my “office” for the day. As I spoke with him, I learned he is from a city this is roughly a 4 hour drive from the prison. “Does your family visit you?”, I asked. “No”, he responded stoically. “They don’t have enough money to visit.” He wishes that his mother could visit him, but he must suffice with hearing her voice once a month over the telephone. As we continued the interview, I was disappointed to learn that Nicólas lacked some basic necessities, such as soap and deodorant; but I was happy to hear that he has friends in the center who will gift him what he needs. His story is not uncommon. Of the 68 teenagers who are serving time or awaiting their sentencing at the prison, over half of them don’t receive visits. The same teenagers get regular visits, while others have only been visited once or twice.

Guerrero Juvenile Detention Center

 

Earlier that day, I had boarded a bus from Mexico City with a sense of nervousness and eagerness as I played out in my mind how the conversations would go. How willing would they be to open up to a complete stranger? Once I arrived, I spent the better part of the day interviewing teenage boys and girls, parents who were there to take advantage of visiting hours, and a member of prison staff. I started by speaking with families. They shared the difficulties they face when visiting their children. I was particularly struck by one mother’s story. She makes the two day trip from Puerto Vallarta to Guerrero once a month to visit her son, paying about $100 USD for a bus ticket. Previously, she (along with her husband and her daughter) had lived in Guerrero, but returned to Puerto Vallarta due to economic hardships. As she told me about the struggles she faces, I noticed a sense of relief and release on her part. She needed someone to listen to her and I was that person.

 

I spoke with more teenage boys like Nicólas. One-by-one, the security guard led them from their cells to what is usually the psychologist’s office. Some of them were timid and just wanted the interview to be over with as soon as possible. Some answered my questions without reservations. All of them were respectful and shook my hand upon entering the room. What I gathered from the short time that I spent with these young men was that they, too, are “normal” teenagers. Like many young people, they enjoy playing soccer and several mentioned that they would love more time to enjoy such activities. Besides that, they offered few complaints, which seemed to be more because they no longer expected much and were used to the treatment they received.

 

I took a different approach when speaking with the girls, interviewing the six of them as a group. By the time I spoke with them, my nerves had long since disappeared. Similarly to the young men, some of them don’t receive family visits. If needed, they share toiletries amongst each other, which was not the least bit surprising to me. While being together 24/7 as a group could potentially stir up feelings of animosity, these young women seem to have formed a strong friendship. They were also a curious bunch, asking me several times to say something in English and chuckling each time I did so.

 

As I left the center, I heard a chorus of goodbyes. I was content, but the combination of exhaustion and novelty of the experience left little time for me to process the day’s events. What I can say with complete certainty is that I met some resilient teenagers and families who don’t yet seem to be hardened by their circumstances. They deserve just treatment and a bright future outside of the prison’s four walls.

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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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