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“CSI EFFECT” WORRIES PROSECUTORS, INVESTIGATORS
Tuesday, April 11th, 2006 -- 10:33 am
Posted by Riley Hebert-News Director
 Investigators and prosecutors around the country are dealing with the so-called “CSI Effect” on both criminals and juries.
“There appears to be a trend that there are fewer clues at crime scenes,” according to Clark County District Attorney Darwin. “(There’s less) hair, cigarette butts, blood and, in particular, there seems to be a trend toward using bleach.”
In one of Clark County’s most notorious crimes, Shaun Rudy is alleged to have used bleach to try to cover up blood evidence left near a burn pile as he tried concealing the murder of his wife.
But there’s another impact of the flood of crime shows: juries and the public have a warped-by-Hollywood expectation of what detectives can do.
“There are some areas of science that are very far-fetched,” Zwieg claims. “These CSI programs have tests that can identify cologne from the scents on close – that’s a fantasy.”
There was another example of a made-for-TV investigation on a recent episode of CSI, Zwieg says.
“A car was in the area of a crime, this woman slams her hand down on the hood of the car,” Zwieg recalls. “Days and days later, they were able to get a perfect handprint and place this guy at the scene of the crime.”
“That would be a miracle,” Zwieg laughs. “It makes for good TV, maybe.”
Yet, people watch the shows and then question why local law enforcement can’t solve cases in a half-hour like they do on CSI, or why DNA evidence isn’t available for every crime, Zwieg says.
Zwieg watches the shows, even though they occasionally make him “wince”. “I watch them like I hope most people read the National Enquirer. It’s entertaining, but I don’t want to confuse what goes on there with reality.”
CBS’ “CSI” is the most watched show on television.
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