SPECIAL REPORT: CSI shows not quite true depiction of real life investigations

When it comes to crime scenes and investigations, many people might think the popular CSI shows are a pretty true depiction of real life.

In reality, that’s not quite the case.

There are no breaks for real life crime scene investigators. “We’re always on call, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, every day of the year,“ said Lieutenant Keith Lutcken of the Florence County Sheriff’s Office Forensic Unit.

There’s also no telling what might happen in a day. “We don’t unfortunately have a script to go by. Our script is made up as we go,“ said Lieutenant Robin Bryant of the Darlington County Sheriff’s Office.

Local investigators are often the first officials on the scene, doing anything from collecting fingerprints and other evidence to questioning witnesses.

In those areas lucky enough to have their own forensics teams much of the work is done behind the scenes.

But what’s fiction and what’s fact, when it comes to the tools that are available to these teams?

The popular CSI shows often display very advanced gadgets that track suspects down in a matter of minutes.

In real life, it takes quite a bit more investigation.

“It’s fantasy versus reality. On TV it’s solved in an hour, in real life it could be solved in weeks…years….It takes a lot of police legwork and investigation to make all this stuff happen,“ said Chief Deputy Tom Gainey of the Darlington County Sheriff’s Office.

Real life forensic investigators can do many of the things you see on the shows, including fingerprint analysis, ballistics work, drug analysis and evidence processing.

The difference, is the amount of time it takes to get those things done.

“You’re never gonna replace the good old fashioned police work, because you’ve gotta do the legwork, you’ve gotta talk to people, you’ve gotta interview people and you’ve gotta collect evidence properly,“ said Bryant.

Many investigators say they do what’s necessary to get the job done, and the tools they do have, come in quite handy.

Those same investigators also say though, that the popularity of the CSI shows are not only keeping investigators on their toes with the technology, they’re also helping would-be criminals learn the rules of the ropes.

“We’ve found over the years that these cases are getting tougher, you know people do watch these shows…and they see the things they need to be careful of, so it’s making our lives a little tougher,“ said Lutcken.

In addition to the flow of previously unknown information, there’s also a lot of misinformation out there.

Now investigators say they’ve got to be more careful then ever to help differentiate fantasy from real life forensics.

For more information on the Florence County Sheriff’s Office’s Forensic Unit: http://www.fcso.org/content/view/30/63/

For more information on the State Law Enforcement Division: http://www.sled.sc.gov/

For more information on the television show, CSI: http://www.cbs.com/primetime/csi/

For more information on Forensic Investigation: http://science.howstuffworks.com/csi.htm