The CSI Effect

“So what do you study at university?”

“I’m doing a Bachelor degree in Law and Criminology”

“Criminology? That’s sounds interesting. That’s like the stuff that they do on CSI and NCIS right?”

 ……….

A misguided view.

As a criminology student I often find myself having to explain my field of study to other people. Whether it’s at a family barbeque, a job interview or even to my own parents, it’s usually a case of mistaken identity. More often than not i’ve had to disappoint. To explain that my course was less about criminal profiling, DNA testing and hair fibres and more about theories, policy and Don Weatherburn. 

Admittedly though, when i first began this course, I too had a rather misguided perspective of the academic field of criminology. My own consumption of crime and media news, primarily composed of CSI and NCIS, had fuelled a distorted and glamourised view. 

Which made me think. 

How do these television crime dramas inform people's understanding of crime and justice and what effects does it have?

The 'CSI Effect'

Fictional stories provide an interpretative framework through which informs and shapes our understanding of culture (McCullagh, 2002).Thus, the genre of crime dramas provide popular interpretative perspectives that shape our thought, in this case about crime. Rafter (2006) argues that crime dramas are framed heavily as morality plays which replicates the fight between good and evil. Thus, adored crime-fighting poster boys such as Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs and Dr. Gilbert Grissom are at the forefront in the battle between heroes who stand for moral authority and their villain contemporaries who challenge that authority.

In addition, there is a growing misperception of the work of criminologists and forensic scientists. The portrayal of instant, infallible DNA results, investigative expertise and deductive genius as the norm have drawn many people into the image of exciting, fast-paced successes. This understanding, however, is most certainty detached from reality.

Be careful what you believe!

Founding father of America Ben Franklin famously said, 

“Believe none of what you hear and half of what you see.”

One interesting aspect of crime dramas is it's relationship with our perception of real-life crime. According to recent research by Kort-Butler and Harts Horn (2011), the rate at which the public watched popular crime shows on television, such as CSI and NCIS, directly affected they way they thought about real-life crime.The study discovered that the more people watched crime dramas the more likely they were to fear victimisation in real life. They also tended to be less confident in the criminal justice system and believed the crime rate was rising. 

It is this aspect of crime dramas which is of concern. Not only do they create false expectations and understanding about criminal justice institutions but induce people to falsely assume fear and harm.

This is a realisation that i have come to during my time in this course. The media is foundational in shaping our understanding of real-life crime, often in inaccurate and exaggerated ways. There is a need to be cautious and critical; to consciously separate entertainment from information. Otherwise, we face analysing and seeking to prevent crime in ineffective and counter-productive ways.

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McCullagh, C. (2002) Media Power: A Sociological Introduction. Basingstoke: Palgrave.

Rafter, N. (2006) Shots in the Mirror: Crime Films and Society, 2nd edn. New York: Oxford University Press.

Kort-Butler, Lisa & Hartshorn, Kelley J. Sittner, "Watching the Detectives: Crime Programming, Fear of Crime, and Attitudes About the Criminal Justice System".Sociological Quarterly, 2011; 52 (1): 36