Despite What TV Would Have You Believe, Crime Scene Investigators Do Not...

Examine, Test, And Analyze Forensic Evidence In The Lab

They Do Not Interrogate And Question Suspects

They Do Not Psychologically Profile Suspects

They Do Not Piece Together The Entire Crime, Like Suspects, Motives, Alibis Etc

They Do Not Make Arrests In The Case And Apprehend Suspects

All Crime Scene Investigators Do In Real Life Is Process The Crime Scene Correctly And Collect Evidence. This Is Not To Say That Crime Scene Investigators Arent Hard Working Professional Law Enforcement Officers, But The Show Gives Them An Extremely Wrong Depiction.

1/12/2006 10:03:56 PM

In real life, CSIs have necks that are too fat for their body

1/12/2006 10:04:41 PM

TV is where the magic happens

1/12/2006 10:05:19 PM

^^^ thats always bothered me them going in there and interrogating

[Edited on January 12, 2006 at 10:05 PM. Reason : extra ^]

1/12/2006 10:05:35 PM

How
Many
Times
Did
You
Hit
Shift
?

1/12/2006 10:06:08 PM

its not a problem until people get so obsessed that they want to become a CSI because it looks fun on a fictional tv crime drama

1/12/2006 10:06:49 PM

Quote :

"In real life, CSIs have necks that are too fat for their body"

you got that backwards asshole

1/12/2006 10:09:08 PM

the problem comes when the jury wants CSI kind of $$$$$$ testing and research for every case.

1/12/2006 10:17:34 PM

as uncalled for as the comment was, i couldnt help but laugh at lowjack.

i kinda thought about being a lawyer for a bit in HS, but then realized i was just getting too caught up in the popularized law dramas of the day. im not dumb enough to let it get away from me like that.

[Edited on January 12, 2006 at 10:21 PM. Reason : and gay ass real estate or patent law isnt exactly my thing.]

1/12/2006 10:20:49 PM

patent law is money

1/12/2006 10:26:18 PM

that was my point and i didnt want to do it. i sure as shit didnt wanna end up some ambulance chaser either.

1/13/2006 12:44:04 AM

Quote :

"They Do Not Interrogate And Question Suspects"

i thought it was usually the detective who questioned them, or whatever that guy is

1/13/2006 1:24:10 AM

yes it is the detectives who interrogate them, detectives are generally not crime scene investigators who process evidence.

1/13/2006 2:33:00 AM

WTF OMG NO WAY - FORENSIC SCIENCE ISN'T SEXY & COOL??!!! & THEY REALLY DON'T SOLVE 2 CRIMES W/IN AN HOUR??!!

GET OUT

1/13/2006 2:43:48 AM

IT'S FUCKING TV DUDE

1/13/2006 3:42:10 AM

Quote :

"the problem comes when the jury wants CSI kind of $$$$$$ testing and research for every case."

NO lab in the country has ALL of that equipment and supplies readily available. Not even the government has that much $texas in a single place. That being said...

Quote :

"IT'S FUCKING TV DUDE"

Its a fairly high-quality, well-produced, and entertaining show. Get over it.

Quote :

"The Show Gives Them An Extremely Wrong Depiction."

Welcome to televsion since 1941.

[Edited on January 13, 2006 at 5:43 AM. Reason : .]

1/13/2006 5:42:24 AM

the show creators must be doing something right...b/c i believe it is one of the top 5 shows on TV....if not Top 3.
So they are laughing all the way to the bank.

1/13/2006 7:14:50 AM

CCBI >> CSI

1/13/2006 8:24:29 AM

Quote :

"How Many Times Did You Hit Shift ? "

ha

1/13/2006 8:42:15 AM

I worked in the Forensic Engineering field for two years (might not be called Crime Scene Investigating, but its very similar), and we would collect, examine, test, and analyze the evidence for almost every case at our lab. The only times we didnt test or analyze something in house is if it needed to be sent to a chemical or DNA lab for the more specialized testing.

we definetly didnt arrest, interrogate or question suspects ourselves, but we would get a copy of the police report/witness statements. From those statements/reports we would piece together how the crime/accident/fraud took place.

CSI on TV is very sensationalized though. I'd say that about 90% of the tests they do on that show are very expensive to perform and normally wouldnt be done without a judge/lawyer/whoever is going to pay for the test's concent.

We rarely did any cases where someone was killed, we mostly handled insurance claims dealing with how fires or water damage occured

It was an awesome job though



[Edited on January 13, 2006 at 10:58 AM. Reason : asdf]

1/13/2006 10:57:48 AM

i like when people complain about how tv isn't like real life

makes me giggle

you'd think they'd make jobs that are like what you see on tv

1/13/2006 12:48:59 PM

well some of the stuff the pull with gc-ms is total bs too but hey... suspension of disbelief is fun. fun show to watch.

1/13/2006 2:35:20 PM

i'd imagine sbi / fbi forensic work can be slow & boring at times - i'm glad csi makes it entertaining & that's why i love watching the show.

no one would watch a tv show about a librarian - unless the writers of the show thought of ways to make a librarian's life entertaining..........

1/13/2006 2:40:45 PM

i don't know, court tv makes forensic scientists seem interesting in their own documentary sort of way.

[Edited on January 13, 2006 at 2:54 PM. Reason : .]

1/13/2006 2:54:27 PM

next you're going to tell me that real CSI people aren't as good looking as the ones on TV

1/13/2006 3:00:33 PM

they supposedly have a former forensic engineer/analyst working with the writers of CSI to make it more realistic. Some of the episodes are based on events that have actually happened.

they just condense what was probably a 2-3 year investigation into 60 minutes

and yes, forensic engineering can be boring at times, especially when doing research and report write-ups, but compared to a lot of other jobs out there, it's much more interesting and varied. Every case has its own identity. I'd really love to get back into that field later in my life

[Edited on January 13, 2006 at 3:19 PM. Reason : asd]

1/13/2006 3:17:37 PM

You mean Gill Grissom isnt a real person?!?!?!?!

1/13/2006 3:31:47 PM