CSI Effect

1281 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: forensic psychology in the media

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation was introduced to viewers in October 2000. Since that time, the franchise has added two versions in major metropolitan areas, now addressing crime scenarios in Las Vegas, Miami and New York City. Based on the most recent Nielsen ratings for primetime television shows, the CSI franchise claimed approximately 35 million viewers during the 2010 – 2011 viewing season. The popularity of forensic science drama on television has led officers of the court to voice opinions that there is a “CSI effect” which alters the juror pools and outcomes of criminal trial proceedings. The differences between made for television fiction and actual crime solving are many and when jurors consider themselves pseudo-experts those lines may get blurred in the courtroom.

Jurors have unrealistic ideas of evidence processing. ”Such programs give the impression that forensic laboratories are fully staffed with highly trained personnel, stocked with a full complement of state-of-the-art instrumentation and rolling in the resources to close every case in a timely fashion.” (Houck 85) Forensic laboratories face funding deficits, not enough suitably trained staff and the consistent advancement of technology. University of Maryland forensic scientist Thomas Mauriello estimates that about 40 percent of the forensic science shown on CSI does not exist. Carol Henderson, director of the National Clearinghouse for Science, Technology and the Law at Stetson University College of Law, told a publication of that institution that jurors are “sometimes disappointed if some of the new technologies that they think exist are not used.” (Houck 87) Investigators often have to explain to victims that it is not possible to collect a sample of...

... middle of paper ...

...the public opinion of government trustworthiness. Studies have not been able to clearly define if the CSI effect has had an actual influence on the outcome of trials. However surveys indicate many possible jurors believe they are more knowledgeable about criminology after watching the shows. CSI viewers may become more knowledgeable about forensic science and investigation processes but that knowledge does not affect the outcome of the criminal justice process.

Works Cited

Dioso-Villa, Simon A. Cole & Rachel. "INVESTIGATING THE ‘CSI EFFECT’ EFFECT:MEDIA AND LITIGATION CRISIS IN CRIMINAL LAW." Stanford Law Review 61.6 (2009): 1335-1374.

Houck, Max M. "CSI: Reality." Scientific American July 2006: 85-89.

US Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation. Uniform Crime Reporting Statistics. n.d. 13 February 2012 .

Show More
Related

  • CSI Forensic Evidence Analysis

    810 Words  | 2 Pages

    CBS’s CSI: Crime Scene Investigation exploded into popularity when it aired in 2000, opening doors for the creation of other similar criminal investigative television shows involving forensic evidence such as Cold Case, Criminal Minds, and Bones. Many of these CSI-type shows present a murder or crime solved within an hour-long episode using forensic evidence conceived by glamorized CSI personnel and sometimes fabricated methodologies and technologies that only exist on television. Despite just being shows, one wonders whether these popular shows have skewered public perceptions about forensic evidence in real court cases and have impacted the outcome of court verdicts. The CSI Effect, explained by Kim, et all, was named after the television show

    Read More

  • Criminal Justice Myths and Facts

    1352 Words  | 3 Pages

    The social construction of myths of crime and criminal justice seems to follow a series of recurrent patterns. These patterns allow for an unprecedented amount of social attention to be focused upon a few isolated criminal events or issues. This attention is promoted by intense, but often brief, mass media coverage of a select problem. Intense social concern of an issue is achieved by a variety of means from the mass media, government, law enforcement officials, interpersonal communications, and the interests of reform groups whom all play major roles in focusing the publics attention on select so...

    Read More

  • American Justice System

    937 Words  | 2 Pages

    Generally, crime and law enforcement television programs have been tremendously popular, with constantly elevated ratings over time. More than a quarter of all prime time shows from the 1960s to the 1990s have centred on subjects of crime or criminal justice, which comprise the biggest single subject matter on television today, across all types of programming (Weigel and Jessor, 1999). Drawing on Carlson's (2001) review of the literature, we observe that these studies have characteristically enclosed five main interconnected areas: knowledge of and information on the system, compliance, rights, police images, and violence and victimization. Every substantive part listed above can offer guidance in expanding a complete research program centring on television imagery and public insights of the criminal justice system.

    Read More

  • Essay On Crime And Crime

    1786 Words  | 4 Pages

    The media is a dominating aspect of American culture. The way the media depicts crime and criminal behavior has an effect on the way society views crime and criminals. Television series such as CSI, NCIS, Law and Order, Criminal Minds and countless others, have become very popular in our society today showing that our culture has an immense interest in crime. It is clear that there is a fascination with criminals and why they do the things they do. To analyze the way crime dramas represent crime and criminal behavior, I completed a content analysis of one episode of Criminal Minds. The episode I chose was season one; episode eight, which first aired in 2005, titled ‘Natural Born Killer’.

    Read More

  • The Issue of Pretrial Publicity

    1935 Words  | 4 Pages

    The issue of pretrial publicity is a maze of overlapping attentions and interwoven interests. Lawyers decry pretrial publicity while simultaneously raising their own career stock and hourly fee by accumulating more if it. The media both perpetrate and comment on the frenzy -- newspapers and television stations generate the publicity in the first place and then actively comment on the likely effect that the coverage will have on the trial. When a high profile case is brought to trial, many media outlets report not only on the details of the trial, but also details about the persons involved, in particular the defendant. Much of the information reported regarding the case is released before the trial starts. Furthermore, media outlets may not only report facts, but also present the information in a way that projects the culpability of the defendant. By allowing pretrial publicity of court cases, potential jurors are given information that could sway their opinion of the defendant even before the trial begins, and how they interpret the evidence given during the trial. The right of a criminal defendant to receive a fair trial is guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The right of the press, print and electronic media, to publish information about the defendant and the alleged criminal acts is guaranteed by the First Amendment. These two constitutional safeguards come into conflict when pretrial publicity threatens to deprive the defendant of an impartial jury. However, there is a compromise between these two Constitutional rights, which would allow for the selection of an impartial jury and allow the media to report on the details of the case. The media should only be able to report information once the trial has...

    Read More

  • The History Of Forensic Psychology

    1508 Words  | 4 Pages

    Forensic psychology is an area of psychology that has been rapidly gaining popularity in recent years. Entertainment media’s fascination with the intersection of crime and psychology has fueled the growing interest in the field. According to Jane Tyler Ward, PhD, forensic psychology can be defined as psychology that “emphasizes the application of research and experimentation in other areas of psychology to the legal arena.” Although forensic psychology is popular right now, it was not until 1962 that a court case set the precedent that properly trained psychologists could provide expert testimony (Page 20). Additionally, forensic psychology was not APA (American Psychological Association) certified until 2001 (Page 16). The field of forensic

    Read More

  • Forensic in Pop Culture: The CSI Effect

    1924 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the following literature review, scholarly and peer-reviewed journals, articles from popular news media, and surveys have been synthesized to contribute to the conversation pertaining to forensics in pop culture in the courtroom and the overall criminal justice system. This conversation has become a growing topic of interest over just the past few years since these crime shows started appearing on the air. The rising popularity of this genre makes this research even more relevant to study to try to bring back justice in the courtroom.

    Read More

  • Forensic Science In The Real CSI

    841 Words  | 2 Pages

    Crime is a common public issue for people living in the inner city, but is not limited to only urban or highly populated cities as it can undoubtedly happen in small community and rural areas as well. In The Real CSI, the documentary exemplified many way in which experts used forensic science as evidence in trial cases to argue and to prove whether a person is innocent or guilty. In this paper, I explained the difference in fingerprinting technology depicted between television shows and in reality, how DNA technology change the way forensics evidence is used in the court proceedings, and how forensic evidence can be misused in the United States adversarial legal system.

    Read More

  • Women’s Inequality in the 20th Century

    1186 Words  | 3 Pages

    Bureau of Justice Statistics, (1998, Dec.) National Crime Victimization Survey. Washington, DC: Department of Justice.

    Read More

  • The Purloined Letter

    642 Words  | 2 Pages

    The CSI Miami episode that I saw was “Wheels up.” They investigators question many people. The people on CSI looked at the body of Connie Brigs. They observed the DNA that was on everything that she has touched and if there was any on her. She had the wrong mouth piece that a girl who she hurt bother made. The man said he just wanted her sick and not have her best race. She had an elbow pad mark on her back. They tested all the girls elbow pads on the two teams but none of them had the right force to brake a rib. They talked to her roommate that said that she was in an abusive relationship. They investigated her ex-boyfriend and took him in. He said that her roommate was going to join the

    Read More

  • Crime In The Media Analysis

    857 Words  | 2 Pages

    Over the years, research has shown an increase in crime is largely over-represented in media coverage, compared to actual crime rates in society. Reports

    Read More

  • Crime Scene Investigator Research Paper

    977 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the CSI field, CSI workers must be very accurate about details and properly collect different forms of data and evidence (Crime 1). CSI workers must be able to write forms

    Read More

  • Media and Fear of Crime

    2029 Words  | 5 Pages

    ...it is the advent of television media that have sparked debate over the integrity of reliable news making. Print media was factual, although sometimes sensational, while electronic media made use of the technologies, such as videotapes and live footage to enhance and exaggerate the drama of the event even further. Many research studies have been conducted to show the effects of the media coverage on crime and how it influences the publics of fear of crime. Mass media has perpetuated a notion that crime is on the increase by portraying events and tragedies in the headlines that are sensational. The public buys into that idea, despite statistical accounts that reflect stable or low crime rates. The more stories people read and watch about crime, the more likely they are to think that crime is out of control. Politicians may then enact legal reforms to sooth the public’s outcry for crime control and prevention. As easy as it may be to hold the media accountable for barraging us with images and ideas that affect our views and beliefs, it important that the public take responsibility for the information that we consume. After all, there is always the “off” button on the remote control.

    Read More

  • The Relationship between Unemployment and Crime

    588 Words  | 2 Pages

    Federal Bureau of Investigaiton. (2010, December 22). Preliminary Semiannual Uniform Crime Report, January –June, 2010. Retrieved from http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjs/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s./2010/preliminary-crime-in-the-us-2009

    Read More

  • Criminal Minds Reflection

    1282 Words  | 3 Pages

    I am highly interested in the show because upon the start of the episode I am sitting on the edge of my seat trying to figure out the offender and how the offender is going to kill the victim(s). Many of my friends tease me because I am incapable to handle the sight of blood, yet alone the sight of a dead body, but I am captive in attempting to understand what drives in offender to commit crimes. I believe that I am captive by this crime drama because of the interrogations that happens upon finding the Unknown Subjects. I am someone aspiring to become a lawyer, and I am intrigued to watch public servants either follow proper protocol or use the any means necessary tactic. For example in Season 1, a police officer had a federal undercover police officer as a friend. This police officer almost risked his career as a public servant to turn off the cameras in the interrogation room, and assault the offender to receive information about the location of his federal undercover police officer. In my opinion, Criminal Minds always grabs my undivided attention because I am able to learn the importance of respect to jurisdiction. Simply meaning that I am learning that public servants do not appreciate the higher authority coming in and calling

    Read More

More about CSI Effect

Open Document