Crime Scene Investigation
John J. Camacho
University of Maryland University College

Imagine if solving crimes were done in an hour. In twenty four hours evidence is collected and processed and all suspects are investigated and dealt with as deemed necessary. There is a reason why things like this only happen on television, because this is very unrealistic. There are so many T.V. shows that glamorize this possibility; one of those shows is CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. This show is so popular that there are a few different versions; one set in Las Vegas, New York, and Miami. The show is based on crimes, usually murder, that is solved by the criminal investigation unit of the police department. Their jobs are to collect evidence from the crime scenes to help solve the crime. Because this is television all the crimes are solved within an hour and it does not go through the realistically long and tedious process of gathering and processing evidence. Season five episode twenty-one of CSI: Miami involves the murder of three people; a female personal trainer, a male who bought a car from a rich couple, and a lawyer. All three of the victims are tied to the rich couple who are in the process of getting a divorce, I will name them Mr. and Mrs. Smith. First the personal trainer was found in the home of the couple. The man who bought the car was found in a parking lot near his car. The lawyer was found in his office. The personal trainer was bludgeoned to death by a blunt object. Later it was discovered that she was killed by her husband who caught her having an affair with Mr. Smith. The man who bought the car was killed by the Smith’s pool boy who was upset that he was not sold the car. The pool boy broke victim’s neck with the car door. Last the lawyer was stabbed by Mr. and Mrs. Smith who were upset because he was cheating them out of their money. There were so many things unrealistic about the evidence gathering techniques of the CSI: Miami team. The crime scenes were never secured. In the scene where the CSI was gathering evidence in the personal trainer’s death, the couple’s son was still in the house. Another unrealistic point is that the CSI were touching evidence as they were photographing the evidence as well as picking up evidence without photographing it first. Evidence was collected without proper legal documentation such as a warrant. The CSI team entered into a suspect’s car and removed evidence without a warrant or permission. This is definitely not real world CSI protocol. Photographing a scene before the evidence is touched is an important aspect of crime scene investigation. When evidence is collected it needs to be well preserve so that it may be used to recreate the crime and also to be used against the perpetrator in court. The scene in the episode I watched that got me bothered is when the CSI team went into the house to find a weapon that was used in the murder of the lawyer. When the investigator found the knife it was under a floor board. The investigator opened up the floor board and picked up the knife out from the hiding place. It is important that all evidence be photographed before it is touched or moved. This is important to create a permanent record of the scene incase questions regarding the crime are asked in court, the pictures are a good source of documentation (National Institute of Justice, 2014). If this crime were to have happen in the real world, the investigator would first take a photograph of the area in which they are about to inspect, in this case the floor board. They would then open the floor board and take another photograph of the opened floor board. Next they will take a photograph of the knife in its original position in the floor board. The photograph is usually taken with a ruler or some kind of common object like a pen to scale the picture. After all the photographs of this area have been taken the investigators can then pick up the knife and collect it for evidence ('Crime Scene Investigation: A Guide for Law Enforcement', 2014). It is very important that accurate photographs are obtained because it is a permanent record of the crime. Another very important aspect of crime scene investigation is to assure that the scene is secure. On the television show when the CSI team was investigating the death of the personal trainer the son of the rich couple just appeared onto the scene of the active investigation. There are many things that can go wrong at a crime scene if the scene is not secure. There may be another perpetrator on the premises or a physical threat such as a bomb. Also the threat of the scene being contaminated can jeopardize the whole investigation (National Institute of Justice, 2014). In a real world situation the whole scene would be cleared by police officers before the CSI team even gets on the premises. The police officers will check for any reminding suspects or victims, they will ensure there are no hazards such as potential chemical or explosive threats. Also they will ensure that the safety of the structure is conducive to performing and investigation ('Crime Scene Investigation: A Guide for Law Enforcement', 2014). All potential threats to the investigation must be cleared before any crime scene investigation can take place. There are too many details that can be missed if a scene is not properly investigated. Too many things can go wrong if an investigation is rushed. All these mistakes can lead to an offender being released due to lack of credible evidence. Although it would be nice for crimes to be solved in a matter of hours, it is not realistic.

References
Crime Scene Investigation: A Guide for Law Enforcement. (2014). Retrieved 10 September 2014, from https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/178280.pdf
National Institute of Justice,. (2014). A Guide to Death Scene Investigation: Evaluating the Scene | National Institute of Justice. Retrieved 10 September 2014, from http://www.nij.gov/topics/law-enforcement/investigations/crime-scene/guides/death- investigation/pages/evaluate.aspx