This is an excellent idea, and I wish more forensic experts would put on such demonstrations to students considering a career in forensics. A no-nonsense demonstration of what the work is like:
1) Hours on the scene, sometimes rather dirty, smelly, and bloody
2) Not everyone is “model pretty“
3) You usually don’t carry a gun and arrest people
4) You usually don’t even see the suspect unless the case goes to court
Original article posted here.
TV crime investigations not like real life
October 23, 2008
BY ERIC SAXTON Special to the Courier News
EAST DUNDEE — That CSI or Law and Order murder investigation may be interesting to watch, but don’t accept everything you see as true to life.
It usually takes a lot more time — with old-fashioned police work often more valuable than all that expensive equipment — to solve real crimes.
That was the message an audience of about 50 people received this week at the Dundee Township Library’s “Crime Scene at the Library” program.
The program is an interactive discussion presented by a panel of three experts in the criminal investigation field.
Linda Mickey serves as the panel’s moderator. She also is the author of the Kyle Shannon mystery series. The other panel members include Ken Pfoser, a DNA analyst for the Northeastern Illinois Regional Crime Lab, and Doug Cummings, a former crime reporter who has worked for CNN and WGN radio. Cummings also is a novelist, and recently released a suspense novel titled Every Secret Crime.
The interactive program focuses on what happens before a criminal investigation occurs, and what procedures and protocol are followed at a crime scene in real life.
A photograph of a mock murder crime scene was the focal point of the discussion this week, and featured four pieces of evidence, including the body. Mickey asked the audience to write down six questions they felt needed to be asked about the evidence at the crime scene. Answers were compared, and the panel held a question-and-answer format throughout the program.
“Our intent is to help you understand the science involved,” said Mickey.
The panel noted that television crime shows are not always accurate. For example, DNA testing usually takes much longer than depicted. Television also tends to overemphasize certain aspects of an investigation for dramatic purposes.
“Viewers believe that all those involved tests they see on the shows are performed for all crimes,” Mickey said. “This ‘CSI effect’ has influenced juries, and they are sometimes reluctant to reach a verdict unless there is DNA or other forensic evidence to support the conviction.”
The panel stressed that most crimes still are solved by police investigation, asking questions and pursuing leads.
Ron and Carole Jacobsen of Carpentersville said they attended the event because they enjoy the library’s programs and have a high interest in crime dramas. The couple said it was interesting to see the differences and similarities the TV shows and real crime/murder cases.
“We were interested in learning about what the crime scene investigations entail,” said Ron Jacobsen. “It was interesting to see what they really do.”
The panel touched on a few particular inaccuracies in the television shows.
Crime Scene at the Library was created about five years ago, when a library in Lake County asked Mickey to develop a program built around the popularity of television crime dramas.
Mickey said the panel wants library patrons to learn more about the science they see on crime dramas.
“My goal is that in the future, they will watch those programs with greater understanding of what is fact, and what is fiction,” she said.
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