An officer got avoided Medina, pointed at the certain regional graffiti, and you may questioned the latest senior high school college student whether he had spraying-painted the graffiti. Medina answered he wasnt responsible. He mentioned that the latest administrator after that gestured to the a paint sprinkle can be abandoned around the pavement control and you may advised Medina: “Why don’t you decide on one to upwards for me personally.”

Medina denied and you will was presented with. Over 10 years afterwards, now a grown-up, Medina shows on that time and you will sees demonstrably how situation possess effortlessly escalated and possibly triggered their arrest having an offense he previously not committed.

“I get thus aggravated, comprehending that basically would-have-been naive during those times, to think of what can took place,” told you Medina, 28.

Into the twenty four hours like most other, Abraham Medina is actually walking family out-of university inside the Lawn Grove when the guy confronted a decisive second: You to incorrect circulate might have landed your inside the juvenile detention, although brief-thinking adolescent know how to handle it

You to experience was not an isolated one to. Medina told you the guy with his loved ones was basically usually stopped by police officials when you look at the Lawn Grove, where he spent my youth, plus in Santa Ana, where he invested most of his leisure time. On their Santiago Senior school university, Medina told you law enforcement officers do remove students away and you can question them during and after lunch to choose in the event your students was in the gangs and gather suggestions to have police files.

Medina went on to examine at the College or university out of Ca, Irvine, however, the guy never forgot just how he, their class mates, and you may area members of the family was in fact managed in tough-on-crime day and age you to caught up years out-of youngsters into condition juvenile fairness program.

Medina know that the aggressive method of brand new policing and you may prosecution out of Latino youngsters only locked the therefore-entitled troublemakers aside at the rear of taverns, but didnt get right to the root of the thing that was driving youthfulness to act aside or to go criminal activities.

So 5 years back, Medina began functioning and trying on the behalf of new citys childhood as part of Santa Ana Males and you can Boys away from Color (BMOC), an organization worried about keeping youthfulness at school and you will of the new juvenile justice program. Whether it are while making presentations bristlr recenze up until the Santa Ana university board, working together with Orange State probation officials into the possibilities in order to detention, or maybe just connecting which have youthfulness and you can mothers at the community forums, Medina produced anything obvious: detention and you may punitive strategies just weren’t enabling Santa Anas childhood.

As an alternative, Medina advocated on adoption away from curative fairness techniques, which eschew old-fashioned different abuse particularly teenager hall detention and you may university expulsion, in favor of strategies that allow childhood when deciding to take responsibility for its actions, also render intervention functions to access the underlying off the behavioral affairs.

However, he and his awesome colleagues at BMOC, where until just last year the guy offered once the project movie director, observed a common thread among the more youthful boys they offered

Of a lot had mental health and you will behavioral affairs combined with training handicaps, said Medina, that is earning his pros studies from inside the legal and you may forensic mindset.

“Our apps are created to getting culturally told and stress informed, however, without a doubt our company is challenged by youngsters who’ve dual diagnoses,” told you Medina. “That youthfulness are the ones just who get into the newest teenager fairness system, additionally the teenager fairness program both doesnt know how to react on it.”

“These youth are the ones which fall under brand new juvenile fairness program, as well as the juvenile justice program sometimes doesnt learn how to function on it.”