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.

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I’ve been thinking recently about various forms of entertainment not being realistic. My most recent thought came after talking with some friends about Bruce Willis’ new movie “Live Free or Die Trying”. There was the scene with the jet fighter that pushed the envelope of what could really happen, and for me it was to the point of being distracting.

I know, I somehow disengaged my brain enough to not think about the absolutely horrible luck that Bruce’s character claims by having been caught in these types of situations for four different times.

Getting back to my point though, should TV shows and movies that aren’t obviously fantasy based be more realistic? This question comes into play with CSI: as we think about the CSI effect on viewers and a recent article I read over at BuddyTV.

“With CSI on television, everything has to be done within that one hour time frame, but in real case work, there’s also the actual taking in of evidence, the chain of custody matters that have to be done, then the actual evidence has to be examined by separate examiners,” Pino told The Boston Channel.  “The stains have to be identified and once they’re identified they have to be typed up, and each one of these processes can take either days or weeks, depending on which type of testing you’re doing.”

To ask you a few questions:

1. Do you really believe that CSI: agents do the things that are shown in the 1-hour episodes each week?
2. Do you believe that crime labs and police departments all look at nicely as those do?
3. Do you believe that things happen as quickly as they are portrayed on the screens in front of us?
4. Do you consciously disconnect from reality so you can just enjoy the show?

Let’s face it. If TV and movies were realistic all the time, they wouldn’t be that entertaining. We’d just be watching different versions of our own lives and let’s face it, there’s a reason we want to escape right?

One of the topics that’s been at the top of my consciousness lately is the whole idea of the ‘CSI effect’ and whether or not it’s a good or bad thing.

The good side is that more kids and even adults are interested in learning and hearing about the science behind DNA and evidence and trace elements due to their expanding use and discussion topic on TV and now in the paper.

The bad side is that the general public now expect and in fact discredit evidence that’s not based on pure DNA fact or other “science”. That’s not good because an eye-witness or other types of evidence aren’t suddenly invalid due to forensic sciences, it’s just a different type of evidence.

For that reason, judges are now catching themselves brushing up on their science lessons because of the increased awareness by the participants and audiences in their courtrooms.

It’s important for judges to know information like this since they are responsible for determining which evidence to allow in court. Ohio State University presented a three-day seminar for judges as part of a program to teach them developing science. The program was congressionally mandated and helps the judges to avoid being taken advantage of. “Hired guns” are experts in medicine or science who are rewarded for their testimony with money or fame. Judge Janet Burnside of Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court in Cleveland said that if “you don’t have scientific knowledge you’re kind of throwing up your hands.” A judge with scientific knowledge would have a better idea of whether the testimony is valid or if it was made up “to sell to the highest bidder.”

What do you think? Do you feel like you’re more educated now because of what you’ve seen on the episodes of CSI as well as other popular TV shows like Criminal Minds, The Closer, Bones and NCIS?

Original Article: “Judge and Jury” on CSI Files

Karen Taylor, who’s consulted and served as a information resource for the producers of CSI, has now been asked for help by Chicago’s police force.

Detectives are now turning to Karen T. Taylor, a forensic artist who consults for the “CSI” TV series and more recently on the Museum of Science and Industry’s crime scene exhibit. Taylor said she will use her skills as an artist and the information from forensic scientists to try to discern how the woman “looked in life.”

“It’s a very good case because I will be getting lots of sound scientific input,” said Taylor, who worked for years at the Texas Department of Public Safety, taught at the FBI Academy and now consults with police agencies around the world. “I may develop even more than a face. Maybe a full figure, a sense of her clothing and build.”

I think it’s great to see this for the simple fact that if someone like Karen Taylor is providing insight into the show for the producers of CSI, and she’s being asked to actively work on an existing law enforcement case, she knows what she’s doing.

Her knowledge and expertise makes the show that much more realistic, which is always a good thing.

Cops tap ‘CSI’ consultant in the Chicago Sun-Times

Okay, not really, but Suffolk, Virginia is yet another city that’s capitalizing on the popularity of the CSI series and using that popularity to increase and improve interest in education.

Those are just some of the clues that kids participating in the Suffolk Police Department’s first CSI - that is, Crime Scene Investigation - Camp used to solve the cases of a kidnapped girl, a burgled Dairy Queen and a car-jacking in a downtown parking lot.

Forty youngsters, between the ages of 10 and 13, have spent the past three days at the camp, a one-of-a-kind experience for youngsters in Hampton Roads.

It appears that this particular event could potentially be negating the “CSI effect” that’s been talked about with people believing the real world is like what we see on TV.

Solving crime isn’t as easy as the barrage of popular television shows - such as “CSI,” “CSI: New York,” “Crossing Jordan” and the like - leads one to believe, several kids said.

“I wanted to learn what CSI people really do,” said 10-year-old Jalen Williams. “The television show is fake. Only 20 percent of what happens on the show is true.”

These types of experiences have been very popular and happening on a regular basis. Have any of you had something similar in your area? Have your kids participated in anything like this? I’d love to hear about your experiences and what you thought about the impact of events like this in your area and for education as a whole.