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Is
“CSI” for Real?
- by Paul D. Rosevear
There's no doubt about it: Between
the contagiously spreading viewership of
“CSI,” similar spin-offs ruling the
remote and exploding enrollments in forensics programs at many colleges
and universities, the current crop of on-screen case-crackers are
certainly proving inspiring. The field of forensics is certainly
entertaining a multitude of people approximately 50 million each week.
But is the line between
entertainment and education getting blurred? Read on to explore the
difference between forensics and “faux-rensics.”
The Prosecution
In light of the public's rabid
appetite for “CSI” and programs like it, experts have mixed feelings on
the impact the show's popularity is having. ““CSI” is getting more
people interested in the science, which is fantastic,” explains Dr.
Jennifer Thompson, program director of multidisciplinary studies at
University of Nevada (Las Vegas), which offers a forensic science degree
program. “The shows themselves are idealized versions of the field,” she
said. “They've got wonderful technology that just isn't available in
real life, and everything gets solved in a neat and tidy hour!” In fact,
one of the professors teaching in UNLV's program is Daniel Holstein --
the real-life inspiration for leading character of “CSI,” Gil Grissom.
In each episode, the investigators
spend time collecting data at crime scenes, conducting tests and
experiments at laboratories, reviewing evidence at police departments
and questioning suspects. In reality, there are highly trained
specialists who do each of those tasks separately, and case resolution
is far from TV-perfect.
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Data analysis often takes weeks and
months. “It's the speed and the specificity more than anything,” says
Dr. Stephen Theberge, assistant professor of chemistry at Merrimack
College (North Andover, Mass.). Theberge teaches a forensic analysis
course and offers a forensics concentration for chemistry majors.
“You don't just stick something
into a machine and immediately find out it's got Maybelline lipstick on
it, color 42. It's just not that easy,” he says. Characters on forensic
TV shows often possess the skills of many different kinds of specialists
-- it's much more exciting to see the countless aspects of the field
crammed into one supercharged investigator. “The investigator position
on TV is an amalgam of a police officer/detective and lab scientist. In
reality, this position doesn't exist,” Theberge says.
The Defense
Though some of the miraculous
tactics and technologies used to solve crimes on TV and in movies don't
really exist, you'd probably be surprised to find out just how many of
them actually do. This coming fall, James Lucas, adjunct faculty member
at Oakton Community College (Des Plaines, Ill.) will be teaching law
enforcement students about the equipment used by the FBI and other
crime-solving institutions.
“We are the first college-level
forensics course in the U.S. to feature instruction using the Intergraph
Video Analyst System,” he says. This system utilizes NASA-developed
Video Stabilization and Registration technology to examine video. “Very
often, it's never more than a tattoo, or a kind of sneaker, that is
needed to identify a criminal from video footage,” he explains. “This
was the same technology that was able to identify the Ryder truck used
in the Oklahoma City bombing.”
Like Thompson and Theberge, Lucas
acknowledges that TV's depiction of the ease with which forensic
technologies can yield results is usually exaggerated -- but that plenty
of amazing gadgetry does exist. “In addition to the video system, we'll
teach students something called Faces 1.0, a program that creates
composite facial drawings,” he says. “The full-fledged police version
has 2,000 extra choices for eyes, features, aging and more.” Another
device Lucas mentions is AFIX 5.0, a desktop automatic fingerprint and
palm print comparison system -- something many Hollywood criminal
justice fans are familiar with from movies.
What's the Big Deal?
At the end of the day, is it really
going to kill anyone (no pun intended) if shows like “CSI” project an
embellished version of forensics work in the name of entertainment?
Probably not. But the public's growing awareness is indeed making its
way into the courtroom.
“Nowadays, juries expect to see
amazing forensic stuff,” says Melissa Connor, adjunct forensic science
professor at Nebraska Wesleyan University. “They've seen all of the
expensive techniques and they want to be wowed.”
For the forensic enthusiast who
wants a more accurate look into crime solving, there are some shows that
are more fact than fiction. “When I started “Forensic Files,” over 10
years ago, it was because of what I saw going on in the OJ Simpson
trial,” explains the show's executive producer and creator Paul Dowling.
Each episode, the show reviews real-life cases and the techniques used
to solve them. “My perception was that we had a bunch of jurors who were
asked to try to understand very complicated genetic science and DNA. I
wanted to show people what can be done with forensic science, as well as
what can't be done.”
A Real-Life Look
While the forensics you see on
television may be enhanced to keep things action-packed, there is plenty
of real-life action happening every single day. Jessica Mondero, a
recent graduate of the master's program in forensic science at Nebraska
Wesleyan University (Lincoln, Neb.), was called out to Iraq as part of a
team her professor, Melissa Connor, assembled to exhume and analyze
human remains from mass graves. The evidence culled will most likely be
used in Saddam Hussein's trial. Talk about real-world application!
“I was there for three months while
I was finishing my degree,” she explains. “There was a little hesitation
on my part to go over there -- just because you know it's not a peaceful
place. But the fact that there is a United States military presence over
there made me feel more secure.”
Mondero, Connor, and the rest of
their team set up camp right outside the grave sites, along with roughly
30 other specialists from the U.S. Iraqi forensics workers were also
present, learning techniques from the U.S. team so they could continue
the work after the American workers leave.
“I worked in the morgue, which was
located inside of a U.S. camp,” explains Mondero. “I analyzed artifacts
that were recovered with the bodies in the grave. It was my job to go
through clothing, jewelry, IDs, blindfolds, gags, ligatures -- anything
that didn't deal with the bone.”
Though Mondero didn't deal with
bones, her experience may be considered bone-chilling by many. “It takes
a certain personality to be in this field,” she admits. “But I really
enjoy problem solving and investigative work. A lot of what we'd do in
the master's program would be via e-mail or the Internet, but the most
exhilarating stuff was hands-on. I love to piece together the story of
how something actually happened.”
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