Forensic TV shows help criminals escape police?
Talk about unintended consequences. Who would have thought that having all these hit TV shows about forensics on the air would have such damaging consequences?
Apparently, shows like CSI are not only leading more people to enter the field of forensics; they are also teaching criminals how to better evade the law.
Criminals have become more careful about not leaving fingerprints and DNA evidence, and some have even gone as far as planting misleading clues to throw off forensic experts.
Even worse, the razzle-dazzle pseudoscience on these TV shows has started affecting the legal system. Juries now go in with unrealistic expectations, making them harder to convince with actual forensic evidence.
Maybe TV shows should put a disclaimer before each episode to remind people that these shows are works of fiction, and that the science (or technology, or law, or medicine) that's depicted on TV shows is not really real.
Some people, inspired by shows like CSI, are now going into forensics thinking that they will get to do exciting things like interview suspects, when in reality, forensic investigators never actually get to do anything like that.
The lesson for us all is: Don't trust what you see on TV. And the lesson for criminals is: Watch a lot of TV, because you might actually learn something.
Apparently, shows like CSI are not only leading more people to enter the field of forensics; they are also teaching criminals how to better evade the law.
Criminals have become more careful about not leaving fingerprints and DNA evidence, and some have even gone as far as planting misleading clues to throw off forensic experts.
Even worse, the razzle-dazzle pseudoscience on these TV shows has started affecting the legal system. Juries now go in with unrealistic expectations, making them harder to convince with actual forensic evidence.
Maybe TV shows should put a disclaimer before each episode to remind people that these shows are works of fiction, and that the science (or technology, or law, or medicine) that's depicted on TV shows is not really real.
Some people, inspired by shows like CSI, are now going into forensics thinking that they will get to do exciting things like interview suspects, when in reality, forensic investigators never actually get to do anything like that.
The lesson for us all is: Don't trust what you see on TV. And the lesson for criminals is: Watch a lot of TV, because you might actually learn something.
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