Jan. 9—Parents and advocates of those jailed at the Bernalillo County Juvenile Detention Center have asked county officials to improve living condition inside the facility.

The request came weeks after a disturbance at the jail left it strewn with debris and minor injuries for some.

On Tuesday, those rallying outside the facility also asked for the youths involved in the disturbance to not face charges.

“Finally, someone is standing up,” Alicia Padilla, a parent of one of the inmates, told the Journal . “Enough is enough.”

Padilla was one of about 30 people, including State Sen. Linda Lopez, D-Albuquerque and Bernalillo County Commissioner Adriann Barboa, who stood across the street from the Juvenile Detention Center making known their hopes for better conditions inside the facility.

At about 3:30 p.m. on Christmas Day, deputies responded to a disturbance caused by 13 youths — between 13 and 18 years old — who grew restless in their pod at the facility. Three people received minor injuries as part of the disturbance, Sheriff John Allen said.

Crisis negotiators bargained with incarcerated teens over items like chicken wings and acting like the incident was a movie, he told the Journal a week ago.

Padilla said she was upset by Allen seemingly making light of the youths’ request for chicken wings.

Those kids were really hungry, she said, adding that “I don’t think it was a joke they were asking for food.”

Among the shopping list of items they requested include improving access to bathrooms, having clean laundry and stopping strip searches.

These issues are not new, Barboa said Tuesday, adding that while she understands that the facility is understaffed, “it is not an excuse.”

Xiuy Soto, SouthWest Organizing Project member, said he was concerned about the inmates’ civil rights and treatment by detention center staff and called for an investigation over how Bernalillo County handled the Christmas Day incident.

American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico litigation manager Lalita Mosowitz said there should be options other than incarceration for kids, such as a pre-prosecution diversion program.

“I’m not going to tiptoe around what needs to be done,” Allen said from his office Tuesday. “We understand there are juveniles in there who are trying to be rehabilitated for a lesser crime but there are children who (allegedly) took someone else’s life. We need to take a different approach.”

Allen did add that he and the county will look into the concerns.

As for the incident itself, Allen said it is still under investigation.