CSI: Mississippi.As a retired crime scene investigator and fingerprint specialist Noun 1. fingerprint specialist - a specialist in identifying fingerprints fingerprint expert, fingerprint man specialiser, specialist, specializer - an expert who is devoted to one occupation or branch of learning , I read Radley Balko's "CSI CSI Crime Scene Investigator CSI CompuServe, Inc. CSI Commodity Systems, Inc. CSI Commodity Systems Inc. (Boca Raton, FL) CSI Crime Scene Investigation (CBS TV show) CSI Christian Schools International : Mississippi" (November) with great interest. Balko's article illuminated the major problem facing forensic science The application of scientific knowledge and methodology to legal problems and criminal investigations. Sometimes called simply forensics, forensic science encompasses many different fields of science, including anthropology, biology, chemistry, engineering, genetics, today, namely, a gradual but continuing deterioration in ethics, honesty, and integrity. When I entered the field in the early 1970s, the most important concept I was taught was that my allegiance was to the evidence--not to an arrest, not to a prosecution, but to the evidence. In those days, those of us on the police side and those on the crime lab side strongly believed in this. I have known several professionals who endangered their careers by maintaining their allegiance to this concept. In the last 30 years, I have watched a change in the field. In areas like crime scene investigation Crime scene investigation may refer to:
Within crime labs, the changes are different but just as hazardous. Where once criminologists were devoted to the evidence, many have now become more prosecution-oriented. At the same time, the entry of the newer generations, with the changes in ethics that are seen elsewhere, has endangered the quality of impartial results. And then there's the "CSI effect The "CSI Effect" (sometimes referred to as the "CSI syndrome") is a reference to the phenomenon of popular television shows such as the CSI franchise, Law & Order, Silent Witness and Waking the Dead ." Since the advent of CSI, its spin-offs, and series such as Crossing Jordan Crossing Jordan is an American television crime/drama series that aired on NBC. It stars Jill Hennessy as the crime-solving medical examiner, Jordan Cavanaugh. The show uses an ensemble cast approach featuring a group of Jordan's co-workers, members of the Boston Medical and NCIS NCIS Naval Criminal Investigative Service NCIS National Coroners Information System (Australia) NCIS Nebraska Career Information System NCIS National Crime Intelligence Service NCIS National Coalition of Independent Scholars , television shows have "educated" the public in forensic science. That they are fictitious renditions is lost on too many viewers, who have taken cases to task in court for not meeting the standards established by Gil Grissom Gilbert "Gil" Grissom, Ph.D. is a fictional character portrayed by William Petersen on the American TV crime drama . Grissom is a forensic entomologist and the night-shift supervisor of the Clark County, Nevada CSI (forensics) team, investigating crimes in and around the and his team. There needs to be outreach to truly educate the public in what forensic science can and cannot do. While "every criminal leaves something and takes something" from every scene, it is not always possible to locate this evidence, especially within the limits of science as we know it. Paul R. Laska Palm City, FL |
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