'CSI' Forensic Advisor Speaks Out

According to the woman who keeps CSI's science on the right track, it's the show's accurate approach to police science that makes it so popular.

"We're showing people the cool stuff that goes on behind the scenes that nobody thought they were interested," CSI forensic science adviser Liz Devine recently told the Sydney Morning Herald. "That's why this show is hot. Every time I told somebody what I did, they were always interested and I would have to explain this case and that case, how they did that and how they do that."

Devine said one of the main things she appreciated in the show was the new light it shed on the work of forensic scientists. "We make our criminalists heroes and we have beautiful women and gorgeous men doing this. And yes, we interview suspects on the show, which we don't do in real life, but that just tells the story more quickly. Most crime labs are the red-headed step-children of law enforcement. We don't get money, we're in the background. If the case is solved you only see the detective and the district attorney, and that's how it's always been. I just figure [that] it's our turn."

Even if CSI has taken a few liberties in representing forensic scientists, according to Devine the technical aspects of the show are all accurate. She feels this is what sets CSI apart from shows such as NYPD Blue and Law and Order. "Those shows have been, in my opinion, horribly lacking in representing forensics," she said. "Law and Order is pathetic. Someone says, 'Go get the firearms report', and they come back with a report. Nobody knows where the evidence comes from, they bark at the criminals at the scene and they go and get the results the next day. [The producers obviously] felt that people would be bored if you told them, well, actually, the [detectives] are comparing the bunting marks on the cartridge casings from the scene."

For her part, Devine strongly disagreed with those producers. "People aren't bored by that. That's what they want. They don't want to just see talking heads in court, and interviews in an interrogation room, [which is] what every cop show and every lawyer show has always done."

More from Devine, including her thoughts on the state of the art equipment used by the fictional CSI team, can be found in the full interview at the Sydney Morning Herald.

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