Susan Clutter has a love - hate relationship with video display featuring forensic investigator , like"CSI"and itsMiamiandNew Yorkspinoffs,“Bones,““Dexter"and"NCIS.“On the one hand , Clutter , who was a crime view investigator for nearly a decade in Maryland and now teaches in the forensic sciences department at Youngstown State in Ohio , suspects that the baseless popularity of the shows boosts registration in her class , especially among woman , who she think might not otherwise consider a career inlaw enforcement [ source : Clutter ] . And there is certainly no denying the appeal offorensic investigationshows as far as viewers are concerned . harmonize to Nielsen ratings for early April 2011 , included among the top 20 most pop show were " NCIS " and"NCIS : Los Angeles"as well as " CSI , " which still take in an average of 14 million viewer , even though it has been on the atmosphere since 2000 [ source : USA Today ] .
But Clutter ’s gratitude for the increase visibility these programs provide only goes so far . In fact , although the display intent to portraycrime investigationsas they are done in the real macrocosm , in world , the virtuoso apply sloppy – even criminal – investigation techniques and often use shaft and applied science that would never fell in the real world [ author : Clutter ] . So which forensic techniques and CSI practices on TV are the least realistic ? Read on to find out .
10: The Actors Portray Real Scenarios
In an instalment of " CSI " call " shoot for the cycle per second " ( which refers to a sick wager among Vegas disgorge members about whether they will see a homicide , a self-annihilation , as well as natural and accidental death all in one night ) shows one of the lead graphic symbol , Nick Stokes , ricochet between acrime sceneat a pool and theforensic laboratory , all the while speculating on what happen to the slaying victim [ source : cbspressexpress.com ] .
In other episodes , the CSI crew carry guns , grill suspect and make hitch . But none of that would ever happen . In fact , with very few exceptions , crime view investigator are n’t even swear law enforcement officers ; rather , most are civilians with specific scientific background , which helps them properly collect and evaluateDNAand other evidence [ source : Love ] . " law-breaking scene research worker are forensic specialists . What they are good at is identifying and collecting and evaluating grounds , " say Jeffrey Love , who used to steer up a CSI section in Orange County , Calif. " Forensic evidence technicians have morphed into super investigator [ on the show ] . "
Why are very few CSI personnel actual fuzz ? Money . It ’s much cheaper to engage civilians than it is to sum up a police force officer with full benefit [ source : Love ] .
On the next page , we ’ll find out just how well telecasting ’s forensic pros handle the crime conniption they encounter .
9: They’re Adept at Crime Scene Investigation
Here ’s what someone could take up to be the normal , professional subroutine at a slaying scene if their only grounds was what is show on idiot box : Upon seeing a dead body , the first thing a CSI does is move it around to get a better look at it , examine it for gunfire wounds and look through the victim ’s pockets for identification . That is more or less what encounter in " Appendicitement , " an episode of " CSI " from season 10 , in which , among other things , four of the CSIers happen upon a dead eubstance at a shuttered barbeque joint [ source : tv.com ] .
Wayne Farquhar , a virtually three - decade ex-serviceman at the San Jose Police Department and author of"Blood Over Badge,“watched this episode and called the delineation of how acrime sceneis handled " cockeyed and criminal " [ source : Farquhar ] . Farquhar says the proper affair to do would to be back away from the soundbox and guarantee the building , check that there are n’t other suspects or victims around . And the CSIs would never extend to the drained soundbox . " For them to manage the body is against the jurisprudence , " he say , mark that a dead physical structure is under the jurisdiction of the medical examiner ’s department . " Even if I see a wallet in the back pouch , I ca n’t remove that wallet and examine it . "
clack out front to read why it ’s not " anything goes " at a crime scene .
8: A Crime Scene is a Free for All
maintain an domain secure means possible suspect ca n’t remove anything incriminating and the medium ca n’t take picture of what might become key objet d’art of evidence . Even chief of police ca n’t just vagabond around a crime scene without salutary reason .
Keep reading to get word why the requirement of an time of day - long TV show skew the actual pace of CSI work .
7: Everything Happens Fast
Nothing about theCSIshows is peculiarly methodical : The scenes are quick and interspersed with middle - catching shot of the Vegas Strip or South Beach in Miami . The pace at which the evidence from crime scenes – be it DNA sampling orfingerprints– analyzed on the shows is equally speedy . Indeed , in the " About side " episode of " CSI : Miami , " one of the research lab doer cover that a deoxyribonucleic acid sample submit that dawning had already been definitively name [ source : cbs.com ] . In the substantial world , nothing happens so quickly . Joe Dane , an attorney who worked as a surrogate sheriff in Los Angeles County and still teaches courses at apolice honorary society , including one about homicide investigating , says that DNA takes weeks to process . " If they have an ample quantity , like a great pool of blood , then it ’s weeks , " he says , although it can take longer if there ’s just trace evidence .
The clip tec pass at a crime scene collecting and cataloguing evidence is also fast forward in the world of TV . " Having been a cop and a prosecuting officer ring out to a execution scene to watch the investigation unfold , it takes hours and hours to litigate the scene and do it aright . It ’s slow and methodical , " he say .
Keep reading to see why forensic researcher on TV are really , really lucky .
6: There’s Always Evidence
Among the more interesting pieces of evidence in " About brass " and " Appendicitement " were – aboveboard – a raccoon attached to a dead person ’s face and a 2nd appendix . These particular were above and beyond the normal trove of footprints andDNA evidenceTV’sCSIpros routinely glean from their investigations . " There is always some type of deoxyribonucleic acid or a clue at the crime scene , " enunciate Ken Novak , a professor in the Department of Criminal Justice at the University of Missouri - Kansas City . " That is not typically the case . "
In fact , Novak says it can be extremely difficult to wind fingerprints or desoxyribonucleic acid from a gun , something go steady as relatively well-heeled on television receiver . " The contour of piece make it difficult to hoard grounds [ from them ] , " he says .
Keep study to regain out just how high - tech ( or not ) real CSI department are .
5: Futuristic Technology is the Norm
In keep an eye on " CSI , " one might think that this realm of law enforcement has access to the most sophisticated engineering science available . In " About Face , " for example , one of the investigators plays with software that , accord to the actor describing it , takes surveillance telecasting and analyzes it for characteristics such as facial look to determine whether the person is shy , anxious or even misleading [ source : cbs.com ] . In " Appendicitement , " one of the lab workers pulls out a hand-held equipment that instantaneously pulls up a suspected criminal ’s pic along with his entire whang canvass [ source : tv.com ] . The realness is far dissimilar , which is not to say that the technology used in police department – which , remember , would likely not be touch by anyone doingCSI– is n’t powerful . But it is n’t graphic intensive and interconnected , meaning that databases with , say , fingerprintinformation would not be wed to one with photographs and mugshots [ source : Novak ] .
" figurer organization that many constabulary have that store a lot of information are 20 years old , " suppose Novak . " I ’m intimately familiar with police force departments that have DOS - establish or mainframe based [ computer ] , not Windows . They ’re concerned in datum , not photos or fancy thing . "
Speaking of fancy things , keep reading to see why " CSI : Miami ’s " David Caruso is the only CSI investigator ride a Hummer .
4: Hummers, Bulletproof Vests and Skimpy Outfits Are Standard
A pop way to passage between scenes on " CSI : Miami " is to show David Caruso , who flirt Horatio Caine , step on it down the main road or climbing in and out of his Hummer . On the Vegas version of CSI , Nick Stokes , spiel by George Eads , is fond of wearing a bulletproof vest , and just about all of the distaff actresses drop a heap of time in tight wearable . It all makes for interesting visuals , of course of study , though you ’d never see any of those things with realcrime vista investigators . As a Baltimore crime vista investigator , Susan Clutter says her department had three minivans with the seat removed and one SUV . When necessary , they would let Ford Escorts from a society called Rent - A - crash .
Uniforms are evenly unglamorous , and unassailable vests are all but unneeded , since Canadian Security Intelligence Service are n’t police ship’s officer and do n’t have a bun in the oven to be shot at . Most fatigue received government issue uniform standardised to what a soldier or law officer might weary with a shirt that has a CSI spell on it [ source : Clutter ] . scarcely glamourous .
3: It’s Best to Work in the Dark
The original " CSI " and its sister show in Miami – not to mention " NCIS : Los Angeles " – are set in locales with abundant sunshine . Yet watch certain episode of these programs leads one to trust they were filmed by agoraphobics . Indoor picture at the CSI research laboratory in both " About Face " and " Appendicitement " reckon like they ’re set in nightclubs , with shelf of feeding bottle make full with brightly colored liquidity backlit by blue Christ Within . When the " CSI " team stumbles upon the dead soundbox in the barbecue eating place in " Appendicitement , " they choose to apply their flashlights , even though there is a Brobdingnagian atomic number 10 sign of the zodiac blaring out front – a moderately good indication that there is power [ seed : tv.com ] .
While mood lighting is evidently good tv set , it ’s crummy for propercrime scene investigations . A crime panorama try out at Nox would never be fully wrapped up until investigators had the opportunity to search it in the daylight [ source : Farquhar ] . Among the standard tools in a CSI van are calorie-free sources , like torch and deluge lighting , and most CSI research laboratory are located in regime buildings , where the fluorescent fixture illumination would n’t work off if you desire them to [ origin : Clutter ] .
2: Everyone Knows Everything
Of all the characters on all theforensic crimeshows , perhaps the most unrealistic is Abby , the Goth , hound collar wearing scientist on " NCIS . " It ’s not so much that Abby ’s anti - establishment vibe would fall flat in a unbowed - laced law - enforcement environment . It ’s also the fact that she appear to experience just about everything aboutforensics , which is also the case with the cast member of the various " CSI " appearance . In actuality , most of the scientist work in the lab specialize in one or two areas , like drug chemistry orDNA . They might have a alchemy background , but not one in biology or toxicology [ rootage : Clutter ] .
Keep read for our concluding forensic proficiency done ill : law paperwork .
1: Forensic Work is Flawless and Devoid of Bureaucracy
Let ’s face it : If the sort ofcrime scene investigationwork that gets portrayed on TV actually existed in the real world , it would pretty much be the perfect job . All of your co - workers would be beautiful maven , you ’d get to wreak with the tech contraption that would have made Steve Jobs jealous , and you ’d always , always catch the bad guy . But that , of course , is fable . " Mistakes are made , but never on TV , " enunciate Love , who once execute the CSI department in Orange County , Calif. " grounds is collect and if not done decent , spoilage can pass . " That means sloppy body of work can lead to life-threatening criminals escaping punishment . It happens , but rarely on television .
What also does n’t happen on TV is the quotidian , everyday work that need up so much of the prison term of anyone involved inlaw enforcement , including forensic specializer . " When was the last time you saw them writing reports ? Police study is doing written report in triplicate , " says Dr. Tod Burke , a former constabulary officer who now teaches criminal justice and forensics at Radford University in Virginia . " Areal - life-time crimeshow is someone filling out a crime form , and the sequel is someone filling out a supplementary form . "
