This week’s episode: Juvenile (in)justice

Larissa Salazar grew up in Wyoming, and when she was in eighth grade, she got in a fight on a school bus. That snowballed into her spending 16 months in a state juvenile facility. Reporter Tennessee Watson follows Larissa’s experience in the juvenile justice system in Wyoming, a state that locks up kids at the highest rate in the nation.

Reporting rooted in transparency and consent

Tennessee Watson has devoted the past 15 years to making great radio – these days, she covers education for Wyoming Public Media and is no stranger to tackling difficult topics. Before putting together this week’s episode about the juvenile justice system in Wyoming, she wrote a heart-wrenching report for Reveal about her own experience reporting childhood sexual abuse. 

For this week’s episode, Tennessee spent six months talking to Jennifer, a Wyoming mom whose teenage daughter, Larissa, took her own life after facing many challenges – including watching loved ones struggle with addiction, sexual assault and incarceration in a state juvenile facility. Tennessee contrasts Wyoming’s system with the one in South Dakota, a state that in the past few years has changed how it deals with kids who get in trouble. South Dakota’s juvenile justice system recognizes that kids who are incarcerated are more likely to get in trouble again, whereas kids who are held accountable and receive support close to home are not. South Dakota used to have the highest juvenile incarceration rate in the country, but after a series of reforms starting in 2015, the total number of incarcerated youth there has declined by over half. 

What’s a myth or misconception that your reporting on this story challenges? 

Tennessee Watson: One thing that I heard from a lot of people was that because Wyoming is a big state with a small population, it's harder to provide services for higher-needs kids. The example that was given to me several times is that a small town might end up with a kid who has a substance use issue maybe once a year, so why are they going to maintain a local program to support kids with substance use issues?  

Then take South Dakota – that’s a state that is supporting kids in a rural context. It's challenging, but then they also figured out some strategies to bring more services and support to kids in those communities. So going to South Dakota, I was like, “Oh, like, this is a problem you can solve, but you have to want to solve it.”  

In this report, you’re sharing the story of a teen who died due to suicide. What guiding values were you keeping in mind as you reported this story? 

Tennessee: I think one of the things for me was helping Jennifer tell the story of the impact that she saw the juvenile justice system had on her daughter. This wasn't a story that I could have told quickly. I started reporting this almost a year ago. I approached the work at a pace where I was just trying to be sensitive to how much Jennifer wanted to take on in telling that story. If I had guiding principles, they would be transparency and consent. Like: Here's what I need to do to tell this story. Do you think that that could happen?

What do you really want listeners to take away from your story? 

Tennessee: This is just Jennifer Salazar sharing the story of one kid, but I know that experience was representative of many other kids and families. One of the big things I kept asking myself was, “How do you legislate empathy?” There are multiple voices in the piece who talk about the impact of trauma on kids. Trauma can lead to so-called delinquent behavior, and kids who've experienced trauma can act out in these ways that can be interpreted as “defiance.” In reality, it's a call for help, and you need to respond to kids with support and empathy.

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Behind the scenes: Protecting yourself against phishing attacks

This week (like most weeks) several staffers at Reveal got an odd email, the email had all the tell tale signs of a phishing lure; baited subject line, peculiar sender, link to click, urgent plea to action.

Phishing is the fraudulent practice of sending emails that appear to be from a legitimate source in order to get recipients to reveal personal information or to plant a virus on their computers. An email might look like it’s from a company, a co-worker or your bank, but it’s actually from a person or group trying to hack into your computer. 

Phishing is a huge worry for Reveal IT Manager Nathanael Lierly, who’s always on high alert for attacks. “Reporters are constantly the target of phishing campaigns,” he says. Attackers, whether they’re state actors or just scammers looking to make money selling data, want “full access,” Nathanael says. “They want access to any secure documents; they want to be able to look at what you're typing into your keyboard.” 

Everyone should be wary of phishing. Nathanael shared three tips to help protect yourself from phishing attacks: 

1. Set up two-factor authentication on all your email accounts. With two-factor identification, if someone tries to log in to an email account from a new computer, the email platform will do a second step to confirm that the person logging in is actually the owner of the account – sometimes by sending a text message to their phone. With two-factor authentication set up, if your passwords are compromised, phishing attackers will have a harder time breaking in. 

2. If you don’t know who an email is from, be extremely wary. Nathanael says he doesn’t even open an email that’s from a person or business he doesn’t know. (The only downside: “I have a very messy inbox.”) If that’s not possible, think twice about clicking on any links in an email, and never click a link that is requesting personal information, like your password. 

3. Confirm who the email is from. Scrutinize the email address of the sender to make sure it matches up exactly with a legit email from that person or company. Consider texting or calling the alleged sender to see if they’re actually trying to get in touch. Or instead of clicking on a link, type it into your browser.

And finally, Nathanael says it’s a good idea to maintain a “healthy level of paranoia” about email – you never know who might be trying to get your data

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Alexis Toomer is coordinating awards submissions at Reveal and works on special editorial projects. She describes herself as a “professional Aquarius.”

Reading: “Halsey Street” by Naima Coster is a well-written book about people who consistently make terrible choices.

Listening: The Uncertain Hour podcast. It's an addictive combination of history, journalism, social justice, storytelling and just a touch of true crime.

Watching: I just watched “Night Stalker” on Netflix, and I wish I hadn't. There's a real chance I will never sleep again.

Keep up with Alexis by connecting with her on LinkedIn.