The Search for Criminals - T.V. Style
August 29, 2008 on 7:21 pm | By admin | In ReferenceI’m addicted to crime-solving shows on T.V., and especially the CSI series.
The incredibly cool-looking CSI’s quickly find many valuable clues at every crime scene (”Look - a matchbook cover - he must be driving a black, 1988 TransAm!”).
After typing a couple of search criteria into an apparently all-purpose, multi-million dollar computer, they find their suspect and solve the crime in 20 minutes.
In real life police rarely have equipment waiting, at their disposal.
If they want to search for arrest records, they’re likely to search a database, and, if they need a DNA sample, it may go out to a lab. They can work weeks, months, or years to solve the crime.
I know this and still watch the shows, if nothing else, for the CSI’s cool clothes and sunglasses.