CSI: unrealistic? (1 Viewer)

[JamieD]

Or they could just use what works, ratings/money wise, since that is, at its heart, what virtually all network television is about. CSI succeeds at that level as far as I can see, and I'd imagine doesn't really give a hoot about any others.

 

[Todd Terwilliger]

Don't forget guys,

They only have an hour - and how interesting would it be to watch someone spend forty-five minutes manually studying fingerprints? Or wait for DNA?

I think they keep the process simplified to keep the action moving along at a watchable clip.

 

[Derek Miner]

and how interesting would it be to watch someone spend forty-five minutes manually studying fingerprints? Or wait for DNA?

You're right, but one of the reasons I think the show is unique and appealing is that they are not afraid to slow down occasionally and give us a procedural scene that shows how long a process collecting and examining evidence can be. If you watch the show, you know these... the soundtrack gets a bit funkier, the dialogue stops for a couple minutes, sometimes there are dissolves to show the passing of time. While the show has unrealistic conceits, they at least do some interesting things like this to make it "feel" more real.

I just remembered one thing to add to the "unrealistic" list. Most of my friends ask me how the CSIs can work in such dark offices.

 

[RobertW]

one of my friends told me that she heard that since csi started, enrollment in the study of forensic sciences is up like 25%. what a shock when these prospective students find that the actual work is closer to drudgery than the glamourous detective work dramatized on the show.

 

[Scott Kimball]

one of my friends told me that she heard that since csi started, enrollment in the study of forensic sciences is up like 25%. what a shock when these prospective students find that the actual work is closer to drudgery than the glamourous detective work dramatized on the show.

Of course, you could say the same of the dozens of Private Investigator shows over the years... or really, pretty much any discipline prtrayed on TV, since they are all embellished for effect. TV-watching is generally consired an escapist endeavor. If it doesn't differ from real life (and lets face it, even "reality TV" isn't real), nobody will watch.

As long as the concepts are sound, and the viewer isn't drawn out of the drama, the audience is being served. Of course, we all differ on our tolerance to inaccuracy. For me, if they are merely exagerrating, I don't have a problem with it. I would feel very differently if watching a documentary on forensic science on the Discover Channel.

-Scott

 

[Adrian D]

I agree with JasonMC.
The only time I watched some of the show, the lead guy went alone to confront the suspect. That's what I would call UNREALISTIC.

 

[Ted Lee]

this show kills me.

regardless of how scientifically accurate the show is, it just kills me that they can piece together all the information so perfectly, so precisely, and get it right everytime.

the evidence always works, they always find it in just the right spot, etc. :rolleyes

if these guys could do that, i think they'd be doing a lot more then working in some lab.

however, i do watch a lot of the forensic shows on tlc, tdc, etc. (my girfriend loves those shows). so, i can say, that csi's techniques are somewhat accurate. i've seen them do the super-glue thing (fingerprint), the luminol thing, the fingerprint thing, etc.

oh yeah, the fingerprint thing. it's not like the computer just spits out an exact match. it gives you a sample of likely matches, then someone still has to manually make the final call via traditional methods.

 

[Todd Terwilliger]

it just kills me that they can piece together all the information so perfectly, so precisely, and get it right everytime.

In their defense, there have been several episodes that I've seen where they haven't.

 

[Ted Lee]

good point todd. i should have specified that i haven't seen every show.

unfortunately every show i have seen was a miracle case.

 

[Rhett_Y]

Some of the items are laughable, though.. like how they punch in fingerprints into computers which identify them (in fact, fingerprints are still analyzed only by human eye... there is no such thing as 'auto-computer done')

I think you may want to do a little research on this one. Once a fingerprint, of any sort is entered into the system the computer does a search and will give you probables or exact match's if the fingerprint is already in the system. What happens next is a fingerprint expert will come in a verify that is a match, yes there is such a thing as "Auto-Computer Done".

You might want to also look at the night stocker case. This was the first use of this computer system! They started looking through hundreds of thousands of fingerprints manually until they started inputing them into the computer and load and behold they got a hit!!!!!

Just go to any of your county jails and look at the fingerprint machine they have for the inmates. When you run there fingerprints through the system it checks every database the criminal system has to get a match and it usually only takes a few minutes! Literally.....of course it can take more but it is usually pretty quick!

The detectives use a very similier machine for doing partial prints........

Never watched the show........
R~

 

[Ted Lee]

the fingerprint system is known as "AFIS" - at least the only system i know about.

i did a quick google search and found this link:

http://www.biometricsinfo.org/afis.htm

it goes into a little detail about the process.

The subject's ten fingerprints are acquired either through the traditional ink-and-roll method or through an optical livescan system, consisting of a sizeable fingerprint scanner, PC, and imaging and transmission software. The electronic fingerprints are submitted, along with demographic data, to identify or verify the identity of the subject. Searches may take minutes, hours, or days, depending on the quality of the information submitted, the size of the database being searched, and the entity requesting the search. Law enforcement searches often return candidate lists used to determine which of several possible matches is the best match. Searches for latent prints lifted from crime scenes are a subset of this category.

 

[Herb Kane]

the fingerprint system is known as "AFIS" - at least the only system i know about.

Now that looks familiar....

 

[Ted Lee]

yeah, it's definitely AFIS. i've seen a few shows on tlc, tdc, etc that have highlighted that system.

again, i'm not sure if there are other systems out there, but AFIS is definitely one of the major players.

 

[Mikel_Cooperman]

My boyfriend works in a lab and rolls his eyes at some of the things they do on the show but he suspends belief and watches every week.
Is any TV show 100% relalistic?

 

[MikeMcNertney]

What, you don't know people who make cheesy comments like that all the time? Maybe its just the people you hang out with then

 

[Yee-Ming]

I once had to go to an actual forensic lab (just to drop off a document for examination by a handwriting expert as to whether the signature was forged). I commented that it all looked a lot like in CSI (although it was certainly a lot brighter ) -- the response from the technician was the equipment is certainly similar, but that was about all I got out of her.

A lot of artistic licence is taken in TV and movies. Just look at all the lawyer shows -- any attorney will tell you things don't quite work that way in real life.

 

[Andrew Pratt]

Well even if it does nothing else but increase the general awareness of science in the public its done well in my oppinion. Sure its not 100 percent accurate but the concepts usually are and it gets people viewing science as something cool not nerdy like the typical stereotype has been for so long.

 

[BrianW]

I like the show, and I applaud its role in increasing awareness of the usefulness of scientific procedure.

But...

It really kills me when they analyze a VHS tape and are able to, for instance, zoom in and read newsprint on a bulletin board deep in the background of a low-resolution (VHS) image. It's happened only a couple of times, but this, more than anything, prevents suspension of disbelief on my part when watching the show.

 

[Michael Napier]

Don't they make fingerprint scanners for computers? Do they support multiple users? If so, isn't that just a process of comparing the prints to match the ones on file?

I guess the AFIS would just be on a much larger scale.

 

[David Susilo]

They do make fingerprint scanners for computers. Instead of using ink, now you can use that scanner. I've seen this particular system in action first hand.