The number of unsolved crimes has increased dramatically over the last decade in T&T. Although law enforcement agencies have strived to combat criminals and bring them to justice, the majority of cases go unsolved, unprosecuted or unconvicted. In many instances suspects can be identified but not prosecuted because of the lack of legal evidence and the reliance on eyewitnesses who are scared to come forth and give evidence.This raises a sense and need for forensic services that can remove the burden of eyewitness testimony and obtain evidence which can be upheld in the courtroom. Any citizen who watches TV shows such as CSI and Law and Order knows that they always catch the bad guys, and all within the one-hour episode. This raises the question, what is the "CSI" effect and does it have an influence on the citizens of T&T?
The CSI effect is a term that is used to describe how TV shows such as CSI, Law and Order, Cold Cases, 48 Hrs, etc, play a role in increasing the level of expectation to the general public for forensic evidence to be found at a crime scene.This ultimately trickles down to the smaller subset of the population which consists of the jury pool.What does this mean? Because more and more citizens are watching these types of documentaries and crime-drama series, there is an extremely high expectation that at every crime scene all the evidence can be preserved, collected and will yield a positive result, all within a few hours of processing.This causes an additional pressure on both law enforcement agencies and the criminal justice system to apprehend criminals, prosecute and obtain a conviction for every crime that occurs. So what does this mean for law enforcement, the criminal justice system and the average citizen?
A number of international studies have been performed in an attempt to associate where possible the effects of watching crime-drama TV shows among jurors and the effect on their decision during a criminal trial. The outcome of such studies has not yielded a definitive answer about its influence on jurors to demand a greater amount of scientific evidence in the courtroom, but the CSI effect still embellishes both advantages and disadvantages in the fight against crime.
For example, some such advantages to the so-called CSI effect may include public awareness of technology, such as the use of DNA testing from a variety of biological samples, chemical detection of latent prints from a variety of surfaces, detection of digital crimes and fraud, etc.The awareness of such technology through these TV shows drives the public to ask questions that typically the average citizen may not have known possible.Why can't we do that type of forensic testing? How come they can't find any evidence or identify a suspect from a crime scene? These questions in the public domain can drive the authorities to invest in and develop these forensic technologies to aid in the fight against crime. It also, however, raises questions such as, why is it taking so long to get results and the completion of an investigation? And while these are legitimately sound questions the expectation bar is often set too high as a result of this CSI effect, where every crime is solved in a couple of hours and evidence is found at every crime scene.
TV shows tend to build a certain level of fictional cases and undermine the number of hours of work needed to complete analysis of evidence, making it appear simpler than it actually is to perform. In addition, this causes a greater strain on both law enforcement and the justice system, which is not always justifiably so.The level of expertise required to perform such analysis, the issues that result, which may not always be obtainable from the evidence even if it has been collected and preserved, issues with the environmental contamination of evidence and the ability to establish a proper chain of custody required to be used in the court of law all can hinder the best of efforts from these agencies, which do not always have control over them.
So all in all the CSI effect is a reality. Understanding that the citizens of T&T have these high demands for technological sciences which cannot always yield results must be managed and promoted in a manner to bring awareness, but at the same time not to place unrealistic expectations on law enforcement agencies.If the CSI effect can be balanced with realistic expectations of the public it could drive the advancement of these crime-fighting tools and lead to a higher number of convictions.
The Caribbean Institute for Security and Public Safety provides training and professional development programmes. info@caribbeansecurityinstitute.com
Dr Maurice J Aboud