CSI: Crime, Schools and Industry
Dominic Hare

The article looks at the realities of forensic science in Australia at the moment. While CSI and its many offshoots are the primary ways in which the general public gains information on forensics, the gap between fiction and reality may be bigger than first expected. A great article for those interested in a career in forensics.

Forensic science has been among the most popular of the so called ‘designer science’ degrees in Australian universities over the past ten years. It is not surprising that, in a society fixated on crime and the criminal mind, more students are choosing university degree programs in the hope of one day working with law enforcement agencies actively solving crimes.

To what extent are television and the media for the causes of this newfound fascination with forensic science? The popular television series, Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) is not the first outlet to promote forensic science and criminalistics in popular culture. Many have argued that Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood, originally published as a serial novel in a popular magazine in 1965, was the first depiction of ‘true-to-life’ crime. Even before then, pulp novels and crime writers had long enjoyed some success. It is only now that a ‘franchise’ like CSI, and to a lesser extent forensic novelists like Patricia Cornwell, have been labelled as actively responsible for the surge of new science students moving toward forensics. Even Britney Spears suggested that she was planning to enrol in a forensic-based degree, citing inspiration from, that’s right, CSI.

But how has this newfound excitement affected tertiary studies in Australia? In 2002, Australian Nobel laureate Peter Doherty warned that vogue applied sciences, from aromatherapy to forensic science, could force universities into becoming ‘cafeteria-style’ institutions out of a need to compete for students. Over two-dozen forensic undergraduate and postgraduate degrees are available across the country [for a list of forensic degrees offered around the country, go to http://www.raci.org.au/chemaust/docs/pdf/2005/], with further applied fields encompassing forensic psychology, biology, chemistry, and environmental forensics. Several additional programs offer legal options, catering to the broad appeal of forensics.

Spoiling prospective students for choice is not necessarily a bad thing; the majority of forensic degrees have one foot firmly planted in much needed training in core physical sciences. A forensic toxicologist possesses all the skills of an analytical chemist, but focuses on a specific area. DNA analysis requires a fundamental understanding of everything from genetics to rudimentary biochemistry. Giving scientists the ability to ‘fall back’ on additional skills, results in a supply scientists for an industry in constant demand. The job market for the graduating forensic scientist in Australia, whilst attractive, is not one that guarantees instant employment. The lack of a private sector in forensic science, like those found in the United States, further damages employment prospects in an already crowded job market.

Those lucky enough to actually gain employment in the forensic industry in turn may discover a world much different to that portrayed on screen and in print, a phenomenon recently coined the ‘CSI effect’. In this phenomenon, a range of people from professions connected to the criminal judicial system have pre-conceived expectations of forensic science, fertilised by its portrayal in the media. In truth, a forensic investigation involves a team of many people, with few seeing an investigation through from the report of an incident to an arrest, trial, and conviction. In addition, cases may remain active for extended periods of time. DNA results might be held up by a backlog of existing casework. Analytical equipment for analysing a paint fragment might be undergoing repairs, or even non-essential work may be held over for business hours only. The high drama of the television show is not realised in practice.

This being said, by the time that any prospective forensic scientist graduates and enters the profession, they should no longer be under any illusion about the true nature of their field. These university programs undertake the responsibility to teach forensic science with a real-world perspective and create employable scientists with a reliable knowledge of their area. After all, CSI does have at least some basis in real forensic science, and the writers must get those ideas from somewhere…!

Dominic Hare is currently doing his PhD in Chemistry at the University of Technology, Sydney. He started his undergraduate career studying forensic chemistry and has wide experience working in the forensics industry, both in and out of a university setting.

References:

University Admissions Centre
UTS: Centre For Forensic Science
Scientist warns of 'cafeteria' universities, The Canberra Times, 7 August 2002
Royal Australian Chemical Institute

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