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Violent Crimes Committed by Juveniles in Mexico

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The Palgrave Handbook of Criminology and the Global South

Abstract

This chapter is based on an original study of 730 young people detained in Mexico, which aimed to understand the correlation between vulnerability and violence in a group of juveniles between 14 and 18 years of age imprisoned for having committed serious crimes in Mexico. The study surveyed and gathered the testimonies of 730 adolescents in detention centers in 17 Mexican states. The surveyed population represents almost a fifth (19 percent) of the total population of adolescents imprisoned in Mexico. The study analyzes three types of violent crimes found among the three distinct categories of teenagers interviewed: those who were part of organized crime (35 percent), those who were part of gangs (27 percent) and those who committed crimes due to interpersonal conflicts (38 percent).

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Notes

  1. 1.

    This means detention, but internment commonly used term in Mexico, and thus is used throughout this chapter.

  2. 2.

    Data provided by the authorities at the Órgano Administrativo Desconcentrado de Prevención y Readaptación Social in January 2016.

  3. 3.

    A sicario is someone whose job is to carry out violent criminal acts assigned to him by those above him in the criminal organization he is a member of, is simply a hitman. The word sicario is preserved in the translated text since it has come to refer to hitmen in these organized crime groups specifically.

  4. 4.

    Contras are members of rival organized crime groups.

  5. 5.

    Anexos are private rehabilitation centers where people with addictions are forcibly sent.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Advanced Studies and Research in Social Anthropology, Mexico City, Mexico

    Elena Azaola

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  1. Elena Azaola
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

    Kerry Carrington

  2. Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

    Russell Hogg

  3. Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

    John Scott

  4. National University of Litoral Santa Fe, Santa Fe, Argentina

    Máximo Sozzo

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Azaola, E. (2018). Violent Crimes Committed by Juveniles in Mexico. In: Carrington, K., Hogg, R., Scott, J., Sozzo, M. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Criminology and the Global South. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-65021-0_27

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-65021-0_27

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