Photography by Byron Jones
FEATURE
Meet Fayetteville's
Real-Life CSI
C
Myths and Realities of Crime-Scene Investigation
By Kelly Twedell
SI: Crime Scene Investigation shows
have enjoyed a steady increase in
popularity over the years. However,
the growing following of the dramatic portrayal of crime scene investigation techniques, evidence collection and processing, often
affect a jury panel's decision. The concern among
criminal justice professionals led to a term called
the "CSI effect," a preconceived notion about the
technology and evidence handling on the television shows do not actually exist.
The CSI series portrays evidence with a magical quality
and once the evidence is collected and processed it almost
always convicts the alleged criminal. Behind the scenes
Fayetteville Police's Forensic Supervisor Grant Graham
and his team debunk those myths and share a little about
the technical level of knowledge required in their jobs.
Fayetteville's Crime Scene Investigation team consists of
11 CSI investigators, some of whom are road technicians
responding to crimes around the clock, seven days a week
using science and technology…not arresting and interrogating suspects as some tend to think.
Meet Trudy Wood, one of two Latent Fingerprint Examiners that make up the CSI team. The spritely female officCityViewNC.com | 51
