KortneySchaumWE1

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1 CSI: Hollywood Forensics vs Reality Kortney Schaum Saint Leo University CRJ548: Crime Scene Investigation and Management Dr. Jade Pumphrey March 18th, 2023

2 Abstract In television shows, how accurate is the portrayal of the forenisc science field? As in many other fields, films often underestimate the number of people and hours involved. The first episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation aired on October 6, 2000, and episode seven, Blood Drops, was aired on November 17, 2000 (Donahue & Fink, 2000). Sadly, teenage Tina Collins and her younger sister Brenda Collins are the only survivors of this suburban family murder (Donahue & Fink, 2000). Among the dead were the mother, father, and two brothers. Their investigation of this bloodstain led them to the solution to this case. Based on the blood stain pattern, it is determined that the castoff pointed toward the parents' bedroom (Donahue & Fink, 2000). According to Attinger et al. (2013), the castoff is generally an indication of the direction of travel for the blood drop. Crime scene investigation is the main focus of the show, but not everything that is said is true. It is imperative that these viewers understand the difference between factual and inaccurate items depicted on the show. Keywords: crime scene investigation, television, CSI, bloodstain

3 CSI: Hollywood Forensics vs Reality There are numerous television shows devoted to forensic science, such as CSI, Bones, Dexter, and NCIS . What is the accuracy of the depiction of the science field in television shows? People and hours involved are often underestimated in film, as they are in many other fields. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation aired for the first time on October 6, 2000, and led to the creation of many other series, including CSI Miami, CSI Las Vegas, CSI New York , and CSI Cyber (IMDb, 2000). The original CSI aired for fifteen seasons and premiered its last episode on September 27, 2015 (IMDb, 2000). The show was made to catch the viewers’ attention, not to really provide knowledge of crime scene investigation. Even though the majority of the show was exaggerated and glamorized, there were some items in the show that were factual. Background of Episode’s Plot and Characters On November 17, 2000, CSI aired the episode Blood Drops (Donahue & Fink, 2000). This episode is about a suburban family outside of Las Vegas. Unfortunately, in this episode, the suburban family gets brutally murdered, only leaving the two sisters alive teenage Tina Collins and her younger sister Brenda Collins (Donahue & Fink, 2000). The mother, father, and two brothers were found with stab wounds. Once CSI arrives, they walk through the house and examine the victims. The two sisters are questioned separately. Brenda was too shell-shocked to say anything, but she did utter the words “the buffalo” when Grissom talked to her. The teenage daughter Tina claimed that she heard footsteps in her house and hid in her closet until they left which is when she discovered the rest of her family was slain (Donahue & Fink, 2000). In the wake of searching the house, Grissom and Catherine propose that Mrs. Collins was murdered first in her bed, followed by Mr. Collins who was apparently on his way to Brenda's room when he was killed. After discovering several circular symbols, Grissom is reluctant to conclude that

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4 cult members murdered the Collins family (Donahue & Fink, 2000). Grissom zeroes in on Tina at the request of both the Sheriff and Conrad Ecklie, doubting her story that she embraced her parents before fleeing. Four boys shared a scooter and left tread marks on it outside the Collins house, according to a tire tread impression and a match found outside (Donahue & Fink, 2000). Jess Overton, one of the boys, was interviewed, and a matchbook and cigarettes were obtained after he tried to smoke them in the interview room. When they attempt to match a match found outside the house to the matchbook obtained from Jesse, the missing match fits perfectly. Thus, Jesse confesses to killing Tina's parents so that they could be together. However, Jesse is subjected to a polygraph test in which he answers every question truthfully except for one. Untruthfully, the motive for the killings was revealed. As Catherine examines the crime scene photos, she discovers that Mr. Collins was killed coming out of Brenda's room instead of going in based on the blood droplets, which indicates that he was shot coming out (Donahue & Fink, 2000). The blood droplets were going in the opposite direction than they initially thought, which led to their misconceptions. Rather than believing that Mrs. Collins was murdered first, the murder was committed after Mr. Collins, which was contrary to their initial belief (Donahue & Fink, 2000). As a result, Sara snaps ultraviolet photos of the girl, which reveal deep bruises. The shocking truth about Tina's abuse is revealed when Grissom confronts her: she was sexually abused by her father, and she hired Jesse to kill him to prevent him from harming Brenda, Tina's daughter (Donahue & Fink, 2000). At the age of thirteen, she gave birth to Brenda. As a result of her mother and brothers not protecting her when they should have, she wanted Jesse to kill them. Valid Aspects in the Episode

5 Criminal investigations have used bloodstain pattern analysis for more than a century (Attinger et al., 2013). With modern methods for measuring bloodstain patterns, analysis has become faster. Nevertheless, the principles of the analysis and conclusions drawn have remained the same since the beginning. By analyzing bloodstain patterns, forensic investigators are able to conclude what happened during the investigation (Attinger et al., 2013). This was the case for the investigation in the episode of CSI . Catherine Willows is examining the photos from the crime scene, and she comes across a blood stain outside of the little girl’s bedroom (Donahue & Fink, 2000). Based on the examination it determined that it was a flow pattern caused from the suspect carrying the knife. This caused the shape of the blood stain which determines that the castoff was pointing towards the parents’ bedroom (Donahue & Fink, 2000). The castoff generally points to the direction of travel of the blood drop (Attinger et al., 2013). After analysis of this blood stain, they were able to solve this case. Invalid Aspects in the Episode A wide variety of invalid aspects are exemplified in forensic television shows. On CSI , however, the biggest display came when the criminal investigators interviewed the witnesses and suspects in Blood Drops . Occasionally, the technician interrogates suspects, chases them, or becomes almost as involved in the case as the police officer (Colorado Christian University, n.d.). While none of this occurs in reality, it sure makes for exciting television. Criminal investigators are trained evidence technicians but are not sworn officers. Unlike the shows where crime scene technicians are glamorous, the real world of criminal justice is much more grim. As compared to police officers, CSI technicians don't face as many dangers. Rather, it is the technician's responsibility to collect, analyze, and provide law enforcement with the results of the physical evidence left at the crime scene (Colorado Christian University, n.d.). This work is left

6 to the police officers and not the criminal investigators who are in charge of evidence and the crime scene. Popularity of Show Genre There is a crime obsession not only in television, but in books, movies, and video games. With the growth and popularity of crime shows and documentaries, shows like CSI will be around for a while (Tasker, 2016). Since CSI began in 2000, more series have been created, including CSI Miami, CSI Las Vegas, CSI New York , and CSI Cyber (Donahue & Fink, 2000). The growth of these shows is further influenced by social media platforms such as tik tok, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and others. The investigation of crimes fascinates people, and detectives work hard to solve them. Nevertheless, the popularity of the crime genre has little to do with the crime itself (Tasker, 2016). In most cases, it is the story and the way in which it is told that make it so popular. Saint Leo Core Value of Excellence The goal of Saint Leo's is to instill core values in every one of its students. Students, faculty, and staff at Saint Leo University are expected to act with honesty, justice, and consistency in both word and deed (Saint Leo University, n.d.). When it comes to Hollywood and forensics, this is not demonstrated. There is an unfortunate standard for excellence in Hollywood when putting on shows and filming them. It is unfortunate that the public believes everything described in the show is true and honest. Their focus is on the number of viewers rather than the truth. Conclusion A number of valid and invalid aspects of crime scene investigations are presented in the episode Blood Drops of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation . It is true that the show is primarily

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7 devoted to crime scene investigation, but not everything in the show is true about crime scene investigation. Despite showing more invalid points than valid, the show still attracts a million viewers. It is expected that the popularity of such shows will continue to increase because they are thrilling and attention-grabbing. On television, these criminal investigators are non-sworn civilians who don't carry out the duties they are shown performing. In this role, these investigators collect physical evidence from a crime scene, test it, analyze the results, and then provide it to law enforcement (Colorado Christian University, n.d.). It is not necessary for police officers and criminal investigators to perform each other's duties since they work together. It is important to realize that these viewers accept the difference between the factual and inaccurate items portrayed in CSI.

8 References Attinger, D., Moore, C., Donaldson, A., Jafari, A., & Stone, H. A. (2013). Fluid Dynamics topics in Bloodstain pattern analysis: Comparative review and research opportunities. Forensic Science International , 231 (1-3), 375–396. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forsciint.2013.04.018 Colorado Christian University. (n.d.). CSI careers: How real is TV? Retrieved from https://www.ccu.edu/blogs/cags/2012/10/csi-careers-how-real-is-tv/ Donahue, A. (Writer). & Fink, K. (Director) (2000, November 17). Blood Drops. (Season 1, Episode 7) [Television series episode]. In C. Mendelsohn (Producer), CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. Los Angeles, CA: Universal Studios. IMDb (2000). CSI: Crime scene investigation . IMDb. Retrieved from https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0247082/ Saint Leo University. (n.d.). Mission, values, and identity . Retrieved from https://www.saintleo.edu/about/mission-values Tasker, Y. (2016). Sensation/Investigation: Crime Television and the action aesthetic. New Review of Film and Television Studies , 14 (3), 304–323. https://doi.org/10.1080/17400309.2016.1187027

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