CSI TV Versus Reality

CSI TV Versus Reality

TV VS REALITY

3. It's Best to Work in the Dark.

Most people are murderer at dark, so there goes the option of sunlight. But why does everyone use tiny hand-held flashlights instead of floodlights? I'm not sure about most of you, but i tend not to carry my night goggles to crime scenes in dark alleys.. Or actually ever. Real crime scenes that happen at night with poor lighting are never closed until the opportunity for a full search, in the bright and glorious light of day, is conducted.

10. Actors portray real scenarios

In most TV shows the CSI crew has a badge and gun, and are out there helping chase the bad guys, sit in on interrogations, and so on. Most actual CSI are civilians with a specific scientific background. They normally don't have a gun and badge or participate so heavily on the human interaction of the investigation. They stick strictly to the facts, even if they are part of law enforcement.

4. Hummers, Bulletproof Vests and Skimpy Outfits are Standard.

Not everything is truly fast cars, and tight clothing. Most police don't have the Hummer on CSI, or the Camaro from Hawaii 5-0. SUVs, minivans, and cars are the general norm, or at least just around here. CSI don't need bullet proof vests since most aren't actually police, and shouldn't be active in the arrests anyway. And most CSI wear jeans, and a t-shirt with a CSI patch on it. Not that sexy.

2. Everyone Knows Everything

Abby off of NCIS, and countless other CSI techs have all the answers and solutions to everything. When in reality, this is not the case. Most CSI are specialized in one, or possibly two, categories and that is it. And most of the time it isn't going to be toxicology or biology, but chemistry or DNA. They can't tell you every little different element of the murder and how it all ties in together.

9. They're Adept at Crime Scene Investigation

At crime scenes in TV everyone and their dog just handles the body and looks for wallets and how the victim died. In reality that can't happen, but is also against the law to touch the body or anything on it. Wayne Farquhar, a nearly 3-decade veteran and author of "Blood over Badge called how the shows handle the body "absurd and criminal". The correct thing to do is to back away, so as not to contaminate the scene, and secure the scene. The dead body is under the jurisdiction of the coroner's department.

5. Futuristic Technology is the Norm

8. A crime scene is free for all

1. Forensic Work is Flawless and Devoid of Bureaucracy

Sorry to disappoint, but there is no giant 3D display that can show you how exactly this person was killed, or a hand-held device that can read fingerprints and pop up instantly every detail of this person down to his shirt size. Exaggeration but you get the drift. CSI and Police do have the AFIS, CODIS, and many other technological databases that may be as old or older than me. Technology in reality for CSI isn't as up to date as one may like to thing. And the reasoning for this? Movie magic and budget cuts.

A real life crime show would have more paper work than action, just like real life. And everything is perfect in shows, the evidence, the genius co-workers (with underlying issues for this field of work), and always, always catching the bad guy. In reality if you miss collect evidence, it could spoil, which leads to a criminal escaping, and you still have a ton of paper work.

In many episodes, especially colleges, the crime scenes have twenty million people wandering around. This can't happen in reality because it would ruin the integrity of the scene. The scene is limited to the select few of law enforcement, family, and possibly media. Everyone has to sign in and out and there is a perimeter established to keep out everyone one.

7. Everything happens fast

6. There is ALWAYS Evidence.

Conclusion

Everything is nice a solved up in an hour show, granted this is the time frame, but these shows provide that the case is solved and closed within a day or a few days, when in reality this may not be the case. DNA and fingerprints don't just magically appear within a couple hours, and that is only if they are located in the database, which everything seems to be. In reality large quantities of DNA take weeks to process and fingerprints only match if the suspect has been arrested before.

In every episode of every show their is always evidence, even trace evidence. Of course it may just lead to a "dead end" for suspense. At some scenes though there is never any evidence, or useful evidence. You don't have perfect prints, or DNA, or anything. And lifting prints off of guns is a lot harder than the shows make it, sometimes even impossible.

So in reality you don't have the cool tech gadgets, the supermodel gorgeous co-workers, the bad lighting, always catching the bad guy, or the paper work. And you think I'm kidding about the paper work, I'm not. Its crazy, and the bigger the case the more there is. I may have just ruined what could be the perfect job, if it was the same as TV, but I feel like it is the job for me anyway and that is all that matters. And we still owe them a thank you, they did have Justin Bieber killed after all.