How Accurate is CSI?

Recently, I attended a talk about crime scene work from Mount Prospect Police Officer David Okon at the Mount Prospect Public Library. Officer Okon is a Certified Crime Scene Technician at his police department. Great guy, by the way...

The library conference room was packed with interested fans of the show "CSI." A few weeks before this gathering, I attended a talk on Vacation Photography. Although there were people there, it was in no way close to how many people Officer Okon drew! It seems there are a lot of people interested in Forensic Science!

Years ago, I would mention to my clients that I used to collect crime scene evidence at homicides and take pictures at the scenes and at autopsies. Nobody blinked an eye. "Oh, that's interesting," they'd say before turning around and making a face like, "Yuck!" But today, when I mention the same thing, everyone seems to say, "Oh WOW! Really? You did CSI work?! I can't wait to tell my friends I hired a CSI guy to shoot my wedding!"

Times have changed.

Well, one of the main questions answered at Officer Okon's talk was that CSI is maybe 60% accurate in how a crime scene is approached. I'd have to concur. They can do in one hour what often takes weeks and months to do in real life. The high tech gadgetry that you see on the show does exist (not all, but some do).

Examples? Well, for instance, let's say a homicide occurs and the suspect decides to hide the massive pools of blood on the floor by wiping it all down where you visually can't see any blood on the floor anymore. Is he now safe from detection?

Absolutely not. There is a chemical called Luminol that when sprayed on surfaces where suspected blood might have been, will glow dramatically when viewed under ultraviolet light. You may not see it under standard incandescent lighting, but under UV light, it just glows bright blue!

CSI (the TV show) uses this all the time. So, yes, it's accurate.

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