CSI: Alaska - Not so much
A police officer in Anchorage, Alaska says she has to deal with the ‘CSI effect’ of people’s perceptions due to the popular CSI TV shows.
I doubt you’ll see this little problem showing up on one of the episodes of CSI: anytime soon:
Her sergeant was getting an aerial look at the scene. He asked his helicopter’s pilot to fly lower to get a better look.
Wind from the chopper’s propellers scattered the placards, obliterating hours of work, Josten said.
Her sergeant felt terrible, Josten said. Nowadays Wasilla Police use placards that can be secured under rocks or heavy objects.
Ruthan Josten also shared some of her experience with the ever-popular liquid, miracle solution: luminol.
They also use luminol, that magical chemical that investigators on TV employ to make scrubbed-clean bloodstains glow.
Josten said it’s an amazing chemical but she’s only seen it used twice: Once in a rape investigation, and again during a investigation into a Big Lake murder that had happened probably eight months prior to the start of the police investigation. The trail of blood was visible from the bathroom to the garage where the victim was likely loaded into the trunk of a car.
Source: CSI: The Valley? Not so, says police investigator
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POSTED IN: CSI Effect, News, Out-Of-Crime, Science, Thoughts
1 opinion for CSI: Alaska - Not so much
James C.
May 9, 2008 at 8:32 pm
Having lived up here for many years, and observing police in action, I hate to say that it would be very frightening to our justice system if crime were investigated ‘CSI style.’ Sure, we’re not as backwards as some think we are, as we do have the access to the necessary equipment and computer databases as any criminal investigation unit has anywhere else in the country… our problems up here lie in both the personel and the judicial system that would put suspects through trial. No matter where you are, those tools are completely ineffective in the hands of untrained individuals, and there are few law enforcement agencies that have the time or the resources to properly train their people to run a crime lab… and the judges… most Alaskans would say ‘Don’t even GO There!’ Sure, the colleges do have Criminology courses up here (and very good ones at that) but their graduates go to the lower 48 to put their skills to work in higher paying jurisdictions. As a result, most of the intense criminal science work gets sent to labs in Chicago and Seattle.
Forensics can be a tricky science up here due to a number of environmental factors. Long, frigid winters can preserve bodies so determination of time of death can be challenging. Animals scatter the remains. Dense woods and swampy terrain can conceal evidence. A general feeling of mistrust of authority makes testimony of potential witnesses quite unreliable. When all is said and done, crime gets solved mostly by old fashioned ‘Sherlock Holmes’ style detective work. Trials can be rather tricky, so most convictions are done by confessions and plea bargains. Those suspects who do go to trial often appeal, and the ultimate outcome and sentence becomes confusing, drawn out and unpredictable.
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