Partner Article

The Fantasy in Forensics: Debunking Four Forensic Myths

If there’s one thing Hollywood is good at, it’s making everything it touches glamorous even if it really isn’t. One of the best examples is the field of forensics. It has been seen as the magic bullet to any criminal case when the TV show CSI: Crime Scene Investigation started getting more and more popular.

Since its inception in 2000, the hit series from CBS has spawned two spin-offs and inspired even more crime procedurals that have all gained some level of success. The mass appeal these shows have garnered has also created an unrealistic expectation on the effectiveness of forensics in real life. Lawyers dealing with criminal cases have even alleged that jurors who watch such shows are clouded by the “CSI effect” when making their verdict based on the evidence gathered (or the lack thereof).

This article should help debunk popular myths about forensics.

Myth #1: DNA testing is infallible

On TV, when a suspect’s DNA is discovered on the crime scene, it’s game over. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case in the real world.

First, even if DNA has been retrieved from the area, the investigators will have to check if it actually has any matches on the national database. In the US, the FBI has CODIS (Combined DNA Index System) which only has over 9 million profiles. With 314 million people living in the States, investigators have only a tiny fraction of the possibly of getting a match.

There are also the very real possibilities of cross-contamination with other DNA samples, mislabeled samples and even misinterpretation—all of which are caused by human error.

Myth #2: fingerprints are also infallible

Dusting for fingerprints on a murder weapon has been a go-to practice for the police for a long time. And with the help of computer identification systems, it has become an even stronger method to implicate suspects.

However, identifying fingerprints always comes down to two or more expert human examiners who need to come to the same conclusion. And similar toDNA testing, they can still make mistakes with their judgment.

Myth #3: Forensic analysis is fast

Telling a compelling story that’s closer to reality means having to skip over the boring minutiae, and that’s why crime shows “fast-forward” the time-consuming process of analyzing forensic evidence. After gathering the materials, they get their results within hours. The truth is that the tests run on samples can take up to months to provide conclusive results.

Myth #4: Forensic Labs Have Everything

For the sake of convenience, CSI and its ilk have their own labs in police stations that can test for all kinds of forensic evidence. Most forensic labs are actually spread thin across the country, with some individual labs servicing multiple police departments across towns and cities. The common case is that they don’t have all the high-tech equipment they need to analyze evidence, requiring investigators to take some of their materials to different labs to get exactly what they want.

The popularity of procedurals has increased public awareness of this field of criminal investigation, and it has even encouraged more people to enter the profession. Nevertheless, fans of such TV shows need to temper their expectations. The science of forensics is definitely very helpful but it still has its limits.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Johann .