Collection and analysis of crime scene evidence realistically

Do crime television shows depict the collection and analysis of crime scene evidence realistically? Why, or why not?

This post is in addition to my earlier post to further elaborate on the discussion that was presented. The question at hand is whether crime television show accurately depict the collection and analysis of crime scene evidence in realistic manner. In my opinion the correct answer could be yes and no. As we all can agree the director of the television show use their artistic ability to make a so-called reality-based story line more exciting, so it does not seem to be boring and attracts the audience to return every week to continue watching. With this occurring the crime scene entertainment allows for television shows the fascinate and at times bewilder the viewers but, in my opinion, provides a false sense of what the ability of the American Justice and law enforcement system really is.

Being someone who was in investigation it is aggravating when watching crime scene shows is the time it takes for the testing of evidence to be conducted. When watching television shows like CSI Miami or Chicago PD they have the results prior to the hour-long show being over so they can appease the curious viewers who are watching the series. This process can take several weeks up to months depending on the type of testing you are having completed. DNA testing for example will require several hours of forensic scientist being in a lab checking DNA against data bases and many times there is not a match to the standard they are testing.

Another thing that bothers me is these television shows often show if any a lack of chain of custody and the way evidence is collected. This is very important when conducting any investigation and especially when evidence is collected. Along with good police work the ability to show the evidence collected was placed in the proper evidence collection container, sealed, and initialed will yelp with the integrity of when and who collected it. Also, a chain of custody log will also show who had possession of the evidence which is a key and effective way to win a case.

Crime television in my opinion tries to depict the correct way evidence is collected and analyzed to the best of their knowledge and I think there is some shows that can at times get close, but they leave out a lot of major steps to meet the 30–60-minute slot they have for the show. When they are processing for latent prints and/or collecting DNA some of the shows are dead on but all other steps are emitted from the show.