Is CSI real?
By miacis3101
@miacis3101 (82)
United States
January 14, 2008 6:58pm CST
I heard someone recently say that CSI was unrealistic because it gave the SCIENTISTS on the show much more power than a real CSI would have. They said that the characters on the show not only investigate the crime scene, but they also make the arrests and even have a hand in prosecuting and sentencing, sort of like a Judge Dread character. I love CSI and I have my doubts about what this person said. Is there anyone who can shed some light on this for me?
2 people like this
5 responses
@babykeka80 (2084)
• United States
15 Jan 08
This is what I study in school forensics/criminal justice. It is not even close to being realistic. There are a ton of people that work on a case. The same person does not gather the evidence, study it, run the tests, track down the suspects, interrogate and then make arrests. That is not how it works. Each of these areas has a different person. Not only that their is not a lab in the country that has the capabilities that the lab on the show has. The things they do are absurd. I hate to break it to you as fun as it is to watch this show is nowhere near reality. Though most of the techniques they use are actual they are not realistic in how often they get hits or how difficult it really is to gather the evidence.
1 person likes this
@gdisites (161)
• United States
15 Jan 08
Is it realistic? The science part is. They don't try to insult our intelligence there. I am in agreement with you that in real life, the CSI scientists would not be on the scene to make the arrest. I real life, they are called to the scene, take photos, and then they leave.
@Minotaur (105)
•
21 Jan 08
I have heard a lot of stuff about how fast it is.
In the real world it is nowhere near that quick to get lab results.
I also belive what they have done is condense a lot of roles into one. Like Grisom would be four or five people. It is a very specialised line of work, were you would have people who did only one thing.
I also think that because of the speed of technology that a lot of the scientists are getting to called into court. They are an important part of change of custody.
@pmdcorabia (51)
• Romania
26 Jan 08
You are right. One of my friend's father is a policeman and he told me that some of the stuff from CSI is true. But there are some things that are not like that: DNA takes more time to do etc..
@clint9999 (1)
• United States
25 Sep 08
The television shows glorify what a true CSI does. A CSI handles the collection of evidence and interprets the evidence. They then present the evidence to a the Detective assigned to the case. The detective arranges the arrest of any individuals if need. The CSI does not get involved in that aspect of the case.
You can learn more about Crime Scene Investigation and the colleges that teach it at http://www.college-pages.com
