CSI Effect And Forensic Evidence

The CSI effect is a belief held by law enforcement personal and prosecutors that forensic science television shows such as CSI: Miami, influence and over dramatize the belief that Americas jurors have to expect more forensic evidence in order to convict defendants (Roberts, 2017). This is a relatively big problem because there are a lot of cases where physical evidence is not as plentiful as many of these television shows depict. According to Donald Shelton (2008), “46 percent expect to see some kind of scientific evidence in every case, 22 percent expected to see DNA evidence in every criminal case, 36 percent expected to see fingerprint evidence in every criminal case, and 32 percent expected to see ballistic or other firearms laboratory evidence in every criminal case.” The issue behind these statistics is that not all cases have this kind of evidence. Some cases have more evidence that is collected by detectives such as witness statements and other circumstantial evidence. I believe that CSI effect is still valid today and people should be educated in some why as to how it an investigation actually works in the real world before taking on jury duties. They should know that things like DNA and other lab results don’t come back in 30 seconds and that there isn’t always cut and dry evidence to make a verdict.
(2008). The ‘CSI Effect’: Does it really exist? Retrieved from https://www.nij.gov/journals/259/pages/csi-effect.aspx

Roberts, M. (2017). What is CSI effect. Retrieved from