Comments on: CSI Related TV and the American Juror http://www.publicsafetysignals.com/2010/01/10/csi-related-tv-and-the-american-juror/ A discussion of Public Safety issues and why they matter Fri, 29 Jul 2011 21:06:14 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: John Means http://www.publicsafetysignals.com/2010/01/10/csi-related-tv-and-the-american-juror/comment-page-1/#comment-1945 John Means Tue, 06 Apr 2010 21:44:44 +0000 http://www.publicsafetysignals.com/?p=307#comment-1945 The CSI effect is alive and well in the American Criminal Justice System. With each passing week the heroes of television solve multiple murders in 40 minutes. The fact that this is not reality is lost on not only jurors, but prosecutors, judges, and detectives as well. We have in many cases become too reliant on the latest wiz bang contraption, rather than relying on good sound police work. I believe that one of the largest myths being perpetrated today in forensic science is touch DNA. The technology today is not capable of sorting multiple low volume DNA contributions as are found on public surfaces, in our environment. So unless you can obtain DNA swabs from every person having legitimate access to the area or evidence, so they can be eliminated, you will not be successful. This is a process that will never reach the top of the priority list in a lab, for a property crime. Because so few property crimes are solved it is very tempting to try and find a silver bullet. I do not however believe that DNA is that bullet. But equipment manufacturers and those seeking to augment budgets will continue to tout it to elected law enforcement officers, and legislative bodies. The CSI effect is alive and well in the American Criminal Justice System. With each passing week the heroes of television solve multiple murders in 40 minutes. The fact that this is not reality is lost on not only jurors, but prosecutors, judges, and detectives as well. We have in many cases become too reliant on the latest wiz bang contraption, rather than relying on good sound police work.

I believe that one of the largest myths being perpetrated today in forensic science is touch DNA. The technology today is not capable of sorting multiple low volume DNA contributions as are found on public surfaces, in our environment. So unless you can obtain DNA swabs from every person having legitimate access to the area or evidence, so they can be eliminated, you will not be successful. This is a process that will never reach the top of the priority list in a lab, for a property crime.

Because so few property crimes are solved it is very tempting to try and find a silver bullet. I do not however believe that DNA is that bullet. But equipment manufacturers and those seeking to augment budgets will continue to tout it to elected law enforcement officers, and legislative bodies.

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