Mexico City Report on Juvenile Pretrial Detention

From January to May I completed the research for my Fulbright Fellowship on Juvenile Pretrial Detention in Mexico City. This included 51 interviews with juveniles in detention, 12 interviews with judges, prosecutors, public defenders and other experts, and collecting data from the Mexico City government.

Here are some of the key findings of my research:

• 41%: Proportion of juveniles in detention that are awaiting trial.

• 42%: Juveniles accused of any crime that remain in pretrial detention.

• 63%: Juveniles accused of grave crimes that remain in pretrial detention.

• 37%: Juveniles accused of robbery offenses that receive pretrial release.

• 7%: Non-robbery offenses that receive pretrial release.

• 25 Days: the average number of days juveniles wait in detention before being granted pretrial release.

• 79 Days: the average number of days juveniles are in pretrial detention awaiting trial.

• 10%: Juveniles that remain in pretrial detention because they cannot afford bail.

• 2%: Juveniles in release that fail to fulfill release conditions.


What does this mean? If a kid is arrested in Mexico City for a "grave" crime (anything from robbery to drug possession to rape and murder), he or she can expect to be in detention for about 25 days. Then IF his or her parents attend every hearing, and IF they collection evidence of good behavior and IF they pay the bail in full ($450 usually), he or she MAY be released. If not, expect another four months of detention while the trial process drags on. Unless he or she is from Mexico State and not Mexico City, then there is no chance of release regardless.

Poor kids, kids accused of drug crimes, kids who´s parents can't always make the hour + commute to the court, or parents who don't have the means to collect evidence to prove their kid deserves pretrial release, sit in prison. There are even cases of kids who don't qualify for pretrial release or can't pay bail, who even when found guilty that the crime is so petty the judge sentences them to probation. I met one such boy and his mother the day he was released from detention (which was oddly the same day he was found guilty).

While I worked in the juvenile trial division at the public defender's in Washington DC, I probably saw a hundred kids plead guilty and never have to wait for a trial. No so in Mexico. At the first hearing many juveniles do confess. But that won't shorten their time in pretrial detention by one day. Every step in the trial is still taken.

The judges and prosecutor are theoretically concerned that the kids won't show up for the trial if they let him or her out. But less than 2% of juveniles granted release fail to appear. And that is without dedicated pretrial services supervision.

The complete report will be available soon.