PROCEDURAL crime shows like “CSI,” TV’s top-rated drama, are giving the bad guys tips on getting away with murder, law-enforcement officials say.
“Do shows like ‘CSI’ raise the bar? Yes, they do,” says Kevin Perham, former head of the NYPD Crime Scene Unit.
“It gives the bad guys, the perps, some insight into what the police are able to do,” Perham says. “I’ve seen cases where people who’ve been involved in shootings start to collect the shell casings – just like they’ve seen on TV.”
“CSI” and its spin-offs, “CSI: Miami” and “CSI: NY,” are extremely popular. “CSI” averages upwards of 30 million viewers a week, and cases are now coming to light of perps using methods they’ve seen on the show to try to get away with murder.
“We just educate criminals with these shows,” says Passaic County (N.J.) Sheriff Jerry Speziale. “There’s gonna be the guy who watches ‘CSI’ and knows you can take a print from a tire track and he’s gonna go with bald tires . . . I wouldn’t say they promote people to break the law, but if someone has that criminal intent . . . it only makes ’em that much brighter.”
According to the Associated Press, an Ohio man indicted on murder charges allegedly broke into a house, killed a mother and daughter and used bleach to remove their blood from his hands – then burned their bodies and his clothing and removed cigarette butts from the crime scene, trying to erase any trace of his DNA. He was also a “CSI” fan, police said.
“Clearly criminals are getting ideas on how to commit crimes and get away with it as a result of watching programs like ‘CSI,’ ” says Dr. Larry Kobilinsky, a forensic sciences professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and frequent commentator on Fox News Channel, MSNBC and CNN.
“When somebody is watching a show like ‘CSI’, they learn that you can contaminate evidence and cause a lot of confusion,” Kobilinsky says.
“And they learn that if you can create confusion among investigators, you’re that much better off.”
But “CSI: Miami” co-executive producer Elizabeth Devine – who spent 15 years working in the L.A. County Sheriff’s Lab – says the notion of some thugs using the show as a training video misses the whole point.
“I think the overriding theme of the whole ‘CSI’ franchise is that there is always a clue and that, at the end of our 44-minute show, there’s someone in custody,” she says.
“In my experience of [working real-life] crime scenes, there was always a clue,” Devine says. “So I don’t think it’s possible to completely obliterate evidence – even if you try.”