Too Graphic?

I haven't written about forensics work in a while, so here's an interesting story...

Years ago when I was taking an Evidence Collection class, there were two older women who had taken the class because they loved watching police shows on TV.

These women were in their late forties and were very excited about being in a "CSI" class. The majority of the class were people training to be evidence technicians so we were all wondering why these two women were in our class since they obviously were not taking the class for the same reasons we were.

Well, our instructor happened to be the crime lab supervisor for the San Diego Sheriff's Office at the time and one day he brought in slides of actual crime scenes he had worked on in the past. We were all excited to see photos of actual crime scenes and hear the stories behind how the Sheriff's Office had processed the scene for evidence.

While the rest of us were soaking in all we could about proper evidence collection techniques, the two ladies were getting more than they had bargained for. Apparently, the photos were a little "too much" for them to handle.

The next day, they went to the department head of the Administration of Justice curriculum to complain that the instructor had been showing the class photos that were "too graphic." Seeing photos of actual homicides and autopsies were apparently inappropriate in their opinion. Well, when the rest of the class had found out about the complaint, we all had to wonder what they were expecting to see. Finally, we had a chance to learn from actual crime scene photos and we couldn't believe anyone would complain that the photos were "too graphic!"

The women immediately dropped the class. The rest of us had a good laugh about it because we were all saying, "What did they expect to see in a class about crime scene work?" Apparently TV crime scenes aren't the same as the real thing.

I wonder if they are still watching police shows on TV after having a taste of the real thing...