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TV show CSI popularized forensics. How accurate is that show compared to real life forensics work?

Since, they are not always accurate...what are the differences? How do real forensic scientists work compared to the ones on TV? How accurate do you think other popular representations of health care are in books, movies or tv shows?

Public Comments

1. You mean its not real? wtf I have been had
2. The science is very real, but it wholly distorts what is actually practical in the field. For instance, CSI is famous for depicting getting test results back in seconds for tests that take days.
3. I can't speak too much to the portrayal of the methods & techniques, but one error is in the term "forensics". Forensic only means to be presented in court. It does not mean nor imply some scientific extraction of detailed or hidden information, tho that's what it has come to mean in popular usage.
4. I've only seen the show once. I thought most of their science was correct. The only thing i found far fetched was the way they came up with their info. They knew the most obscure facts. Like they would look at a tire tread and be able to determine the car had driven in utah or somthing crazy like that just by looking at it. Other wise I from what I saw they had it right.
5. I don't know for certain as i dont actually work in a forensics lab. But what i was told was that most of the time, the people that get evidence at the scene, test it and then "solve the case" would all be different people. While in the show they do everything. I think the forensic scientists spend more of thier time in the lab than actually doing police work and interviewing criminals. Also i think they are very casual about how they take thier samples. There is a much more strict way to sample things etc in real life. As if it is not sampled correctly under strict guidlines the evidence can not be used in court.
6. Terribly inaccurate. On my last Jury Duty the DA made that VERY CLEAR. More than half of the "test" they use don't exist, and of the others some take literally MONTHS to get the results back. Also, in the crime lab, They all specialize. If You work the lab, You NEVER GO INTO THE FIELD. There is a group that collects, bunches of groups that test, some tests get sent out to specialty labs, and CSI's NEVER DO INTERVIEWS, LEAD investigations, figure out what the results MEAN to an investigation, or get anywhere NEAR an arrest event. Oh yeah! Almost forgot, apparently most of the lab guys and girls aren't NEARLY as good looking as the folks on CSI... Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the show! It's GREAT! Just not very realistic...
7. CSI is probably one of the worst example of real life forensics. In the real world, members of CSI are CIVILIANS and only enter crime scenes under the supervision of the police. Also most of their work is done in labs, from which they never leave on duty (unless it is to a crime scene). The more recent CSI episodes depict the members with guns as well as interrogating suspects. COMPLETELY WRONG! As I stated, CSI members are civilians, so they don't have the skills nor authority to wield guns and interrogate suspects on duty. In fact in real life, CSI members are not allowed to see most suspects as it helps make the forensics more scientific, with no interference from personal feelings. Other than that CSI is a perfectly good Hollywood show, with interesting characters and plots.
8. Most of the science is pretty good - however, they tend to compress time (meaning that DNA tests are seldom available in the time they imply). They also tend to assume that any unknown specimen can be found in a library of "standards" - while true, for the most part, libraries are constantly growing as new materials are added. Finally, they construct the story lines to keep the answers "clear" - meaning that possible interferences are simply written out of the scripts.
9. The science is good. However, the time factor is way off, it takes much longer, and the cost is a real problem for real life. It is very costly and especially small municipalities do not have the equipment available. Most books have a medical editor and if they do are fairly accurate. TV shows also may have a scientific editor. MASH was accurate. Some are some arent. Some offer study materials to schools to further study the facts. McGyver was accurate except that he left out aone critical factor so that it could not be repeated at home.