I have clearly had too much time on my hands recently as I have begun to watch television on a regular basis. I have been watching the American production Crime Scene Investigation.
I do not know why I have become drawn to this programme but it is immensely fascinating. If you have never seen the programme it is about a group of forensic scientists who solve entire cases on simply the forensic evidence.
What I have yet to understand is how do this forensic detectives solve the crimes on forensic analysis alone when in most of my cases the forensic evidence is persuasive as opposed to being the evidence that convicts. The programmes often show incremental developments being made in the forensic investigation that are then used to assist the detectives investigating the crime. The programmes are all fictional and are clearly designed to entertain rather than show a realistic scenario.
In most of my cases involving forensics my Client gets arrested and is told that the evidence or crime scene is being forensicated. After being interviewed they are asked to give a sample for forensic comparison and then they are bailed from the Police Station to come back in about three months time as it takes nearly three months to get any kind of a result out of the UK Forensic Science Service. Perhaps they should commission a new version of the programme: Forensic Science Service: The UK shambles?
3 comments:
CSI is an unfortunate show in many respects, since it creates a impression in the mind of the public that real-life cases can be or should be handled or solved like they are on the show.
More than one defense attorney has made hay in jury trials with observations that the police should have/could have done this procedure or that procedure--just like on TV! Never mind that the defendant was caught red-handed and confessed to the offense.
I now will often expressly make the point during jury selection that they should not be expecting dazzling displays of technology ala CSI, except in the rare case I have such evidence (like the "cold hit" DNA case where the tiny DNA sample alone resulted in a conviction for robbery and abduction and 40 years in prison for the defendant.)
Nice blog!
I've often thought that a UK version of Law and Order would be interesting. So as to see the police investigation followed by the trial in one program.
But then I realised, to be accurate, you'd need to show the police investigation then wait for three or four series before showing the trial.
I also watch it. The process of crime investigation always fascinates me. It is also interesting to see how the govt. machinery works in such cases.
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