Crime Drama And The Criminal Justice System

The role of mass media in the society cannot be underrated. All breaking news consistently aired and disseminated to the public as soon as it occurs. Furthermore, some forms of mass media such as the television heavily contribute towards the shaping of the consciousness of many people. According to Berger (17), “the media entertain us, socialize us, inform us, educate us, sell things to us (and sell us, as audiences, to advertisers), and indoctrinate us – among other things.” Moreover, television is a story-telling centralized system. All the programs viewed on television creates a coherent system that signifies various messages in every homestead (Gerbner 177). Crime drama programs are not an exception. Crime drama is not a new thing on television;

however, the forms of crime drama programs have also evolved significantly over the years. According to Fradella, Owen, and Burke (262), the CSI effect heavily affects the justice system as well as the criminal justice education.

Whereas early crime drama programs majorly involved heroic detectives in solving the crime and current crime drama programs additionally incorporate forensic science. In any case, current crime drama programs answer two questions; who did it and how did they manage to accomplish it. Incidentally, such kind of crime drama programs have had a profound impact, normally referred to as the CSI effect, on the criminal justice system, including the education of criminal justice, leading to question on how crime drama programs evolved and how it affects the current criminal justice system.

The American culture is notoriously known for its love for crime drama programs, which can be traced back to the commencement of the television evolution. In spite of many programs being frequently aired, crime-related programs seem to have a larger following than any other programs. This

can be attributed to the existence or presence of crime drama programs. In fact, programs such as Law & Order, Criminal Minds, and Crime Scene Investigation (CSI), which are all crime drama programs, have a huge following in today’s generation, further adducing the insatiable love for crime-related material content. Actually, Roush (31) says that if crime drama addiction were a crime and then the entire country would have been locked up. As much as many people are constantly glued to their screens following crime drama programs, very few can tell that, the history of crime drama programs goes back before the television was invented. Surprisingly, crime drama programs originated even before electricity was invented. Myths, theaters, and folktales often featured numerous crime stories. Printed media evolution took crime drama programs to a completely new level. Numerous crime stories were constantly printed in all sorts of printed media platforms, such as the press and novels. The stories often featured detective heroes who managed to solve complex crimes, and they were an instant hit to the public. Hence, no one was surprised that once the radio was invented, drama crime stories were constantly aired. Some radio programs often dramatized real life situations. The game changer of crime drama programs, however, came with the invention of the television. Most movies and television programs were based on the crime drama. Currently, there are hundreds of television channels that broadcast crime drama programs only, with more focus on the criminal justice system.
The CSI effect has changed the way students approach learning as well as the manner in which jurors behave in the courtroom. The glorification of the American justice system as being effective in solving crime in crime drama programs has seen many potential students’ interest in the criminal justice system increase. More so, jurors have been increasingly making decisions based on the crime drama portrayals. Presumably, most of today’s judges, attorneys and prosecutors admit that the prevalence of drama crime programs have influenced the manner in which they discharge their duties. Based on the popularity of the CSI television series, the effect of this type of crime drama has been felt all over, consequently affecting and playing a big role in the manner that the justice system functions. Prior to the broadcast and immense success of the program, criminal attorneys, and other practitioners had the upper hand in courts, as they had no problem convincing jurors how data was collected and analyzed scientifically. However, the program made jurors aware of the forensic processes and procedures. Consequently, most jurors may think that they have the more forensic knowledge, or rather, feel that forensic science analysis and collection of evidence is integral to a case. Additionally, it is common nowadays for jurors to criticize the manner in which evidence was collected and inquire into other scientific ways, which only exists in their favorite crime drama programs. The jurors’ higher expectations of using better forensic methods may, therefore, cloud their judgment when ruling on a case. This portrays how serious the crime drama programs are affecting the criminal justice system.
Furthermore, the crime drama programs also have effects on the justice system outside the courtroom. Millions of citizens spend their time glued to their screens as they catch up with their favorite crime-related programs. The content of the programs and consistent watching tend to alter the beliefs, opinions, and perceptions of many individuals. The programs usually exhibit a justice system that is devoted and dedicated to serving justice. More so, the programs depict the criminal justice system as powerful and able to solve all crimes with ease. Be that as it may, there is a huge potential of people getting the wrong impression as well as inaccurate crime rates and beliefs. The perceived perception of the criminal justice system always administering justice to citizens may actually hinder the working of the actual justice system. It is important to note that people can only participate in a criminal justice system proceeding as a witness, defendant, juror, and victim. In any case, the wrong perception of the mentioned roles due to the influence of crime drama programs may actually hinder the administering of justice. According to Goodman-Delahunty and Tait (98), the CSI effect has made the criminal justice system shift its focus from the adjudication procedure to the pre-trial investigation. Accordingly, a juror may, therefore, focus on obtaining every single piece of evidence, irrespective of whether or not the evidence relates to a case. This threatens justice administration in a big way. As much as jurors are knowledgeable in forensic matters from constantly watching crime drama programs, they are usually not qualified to determine what evidence to collect. In any case, knowledge of how science is applied in obtaining evidence does not necessarily make one completely informed of the real procedures and analysis methods of gathering important evidence.
On the other hand, prosecutors also fall victim to the CSI effect.

The notion of jurors that a case can only be strong with the admissibility of forensically collected evidence may make them rule judgments that are biased against the prosecutors. Occasionally, prosecutors may fail to avail the requested evidence such as fingerprints and DNA. The public might, therefore, express an opinion that the prosecutors must be sleeping on their jobs, hence, letting criminals get away scot-free (Goodman-Delahunty and Tait 100). Unlike the crime drama programs where there is always some form of incriminating evidence, this may not be the case in the real world. Justice may, therefore, not be served due to the unrealistic evidence that prosecutors are asked to produce. Another effect that crime drama programs have on the criminal justice system is jurors who are highly motivated. There are actually two effects here, both positive and negative. According to Goodman-Delahunty and Tait (103), jurors might have more interest and be more attentive in their civil duty. More often than not, the jurors are highly motivated, as they want to see justice done. They may, therefore, develop a genuine interest and consequently make unbiased decisions. However, they may occasionally feel motivated to live up to the standards of crime drama jurors who are often glorified on the screen. This kind of motivation is wrong since the juror will be after trying to prove a point rather than administering

justice. Once motivated to that extent, it is highly possible for the jurors to make decisions that hinder justice from being served.
In conclusion, it is indeed clear that crime drama programs have heavily affected the criminal justice in a negative manner. Justice administration should be at the forefront of every attorney, juror, and prosecutor. This is, however, not the case as more and more people try to live up to the impressions created by the crime drama programs. This is a scenario happening all over the world, and it is causing many people fail to get the justice they deserve. More so, a lot of good and competent prosecutors and attorneys occasionally lose their credibility due to jurors who are bent on turning the courtroom into a forensics lab rather than a place where justice is served. This has far-reaching consequences as criminals who are guilty of serious crimes might walk away scot-free, and go back to committing crimes or harm other people.