Top 8 Myths About Crime Scene Investigators

Real life crime scene investigators call it the “CSI effect,” but the phenomenon could just as easily be called the “Bones effect,” “The Closer effect,” or the “NCIS effect.” All these shows portray an unrealistic view of the profession. Here are the most prevalent myths, and the truth behind each.

1 Investigation is Fast

On TV, cases are solved in one hour, and even going by the show’s timeline, investigators usually find the bad guy in 24-48 hours. In reality, crime investigation is a long, tedious process. It takes an enormous amount of time and resources to gather information, sort through it to find what’s relevant, determine what the relevant data means and connect the evidence to a guilty party.

2 Crime Scenes are Full of Useful Evidence

Crime scenes are just ordinary places until something happens. People come and go, drop things, and touch things. It’s actually a messy place, bountiful with fingerprints, DNA, garbage and artifacts – most of which have nothing to do with the crime. It takes time and skill to identify the useful evidence from the general muck.

3 Technology Can Solve Everything

Investigators dream of having the technology portrayed on TV. On television, investigators have huge databases at their fingertips, DNA and other evidence just goes in a machine which instantly spits out perfect results, and other fanciful tools. Much of this technology simply doesn’t exist.

4 One Investigator Can Do It All

On TV, investigators swoop onto the scene and instantly know about the ballistics, blood spatters, and everything else. They go back to the office and act as experts in everything from DNA to entomology. Truth is, these fields of expertise are highly specialized, usually requiring a criminal justice masters degree. No one investigator does all these things.

5 Criminal Profiling is Always Accurate

Profilers on TV take one look at a scene and conclude the perpetrator’s sex, race, employment, family history and age. Real profiling is hit or miss, at best. For example, profilers nailed the Unibomber, but were miles off the mark with the gunmen who victimized the Eastern Seaboard for months.

6 Eyewitnesses are Always Reliable

Real witnesses are notoriously unreliable. Consider this: if someone suddenly ran into your bank, what is the likelihood you’d remember every detail of every person in the lobby? Do you really pay attention to your teller’s blouse or what earrings the woman next to you was wearing? Not only are we not usually paying this much attention, witnesses experience stress to cloud their memories.

7 You Can Discover the Truth Through Hypnosis

Experienced investigators say hypnosis is as likely to trigger false memories as real ones. While hypnosis occasionally helps witnesses recall details, this information is only worth relying on if other witnesses or evidence can back up the account.

8 Investigators Carry Guns

Investigators almost never even visit the crime scene. Each step of the process is handled by specialists. Police officers secure the scene, then a crew comes in to gather evidence. The evidence is brought to the lab, where specialized investigators work on their part of the puzzle. After investigators conclude analysis, the evidence is given to detectives, who try to figure out what it all means.

So, real crime scene investigation isn’t quite like it’s shown on TV, but it still requires highly specialized, well-trained professionals. Don’t worry: they spend a lot of time trying to separate myth from reality, too.

About the author: Randy Vulture is a freelance writer from Brooklyn, New York.