High Tech on TV

As an example, the holographic displays (especially CSI Miami's ones) are quite out of place with reality, and look more like they should be on sci fi programs such as Star Trek (and even they didn't have them).

It just seems fantastic or even impossible that such tools exist.

Most don't, or so much 'artistic licence' and 'creative writing' is used on existing products, tools and developing technologies as to make them almost unrecognisable. Remember, they are written by fiction writers, they are not documentaries or 'benind-the-scenes' glimpses of real life. Yes they use industry consultants, do research and base a lot of what they write about on actual developments (the Metal Storm weapon system for example), but to become a hit TV series you need to rework the reality of actual police work.

After a dozen or so series I have given up on watching programs like the CSI's (don't get me started on CSI LA) because they have gotten to a point where they are just too unbelievable compared to my knowledge of the real world (and not in a good way). NCIS is alright though.

I actually know someone who works in crime scene forensics (a real CSI), when mentioning these programs he colourfully explains they are total rubbish.

As with most TV programs, don't take them too seriously.

I really love the shows (not really) that use a "satellite" to peak at people inside rooms - even from strange perspectives like a horizontal in-through-window view. I'm trying to remember which film or TV show I saw this on a few weeks ago...

By the way..Adding a question inspirated by Ronseto, how perfectly can be classified a fingerprint? Is possible assign a number to each one? ID numbers shouldn't be associated to genes,understanding was fixed a way to assign a number to some genes?

The goverment can do ANYTHING it wants to.

Ron

it's my understanding that these type of shows hire experts for consultents.

the bigger question might be, are we training criminals to aviod capture.

are we training criminals to aviod capture, No, there still too many that are too dumb to learn. _{unfortunately that is passed onto there young.}

The criminal for most part will get caught one way or another. Repetitive, bragging, or confession at some point in time. There one that has remained unsolved at this time, DB Cooper.

In others, they can scan a fingerprint on a handheld device and instantly find a match. It just seems fantastic or even impossible that such tools exist.

Yes this little bit of kit does exist... as for the speed.. not sure about that!

But one must remember.. it's not real...

I'm a chemist (but not a forensic chemist), so these shows always facinate me. I would have to say that most of what I see actually is sort-of possible. However, certainly not in the time frames shown. Things that would take a week to accomplish by a dedicated team of chemists is shown as results in 10 minutes.

So a lot of the instruments and techniques shown do exist, and have the capabilities shown, but in a longer time frame.

I think it is also unlikely that a police lab would have any of them. Again, I have never worked in a forensic lab. However, looking at forensic chemistry jobs, they seem to pay very little. If a lab values it's employees so little, do you think they invest millions in the instruments?

I imagine the real forensic lab as being a dreary, understaffed place with underpaid people working a crushing work load with 20 year old instruments. They sure don't collect the samples, interview people etc.

One of our county sherriff's departments here in Arizona is about to deploy this:

MORIS Handheld Iris/Face/Fingerprint Biometric Recognition Device

Sounds pretty high tech to me.

It's pretty much what I suspected. On NCIS, McGee is able to tap into any database. Is this possible? On a similar note, the TV show "House" expounds all kinds of diagnosis. I wonder if this is made up or authentic. There was one episode where an eyeball fell out of a guy's head. Is this possible? It is my understanding that with the knowledge base that modern man has, TV writers have to be more convincing.

I don't watch TV. So, I have no idea what the writers may have come up with.

OK, I do watch some History Channel and "how it's made" type shows, but none of the reality crap, dancing with the pretty people, crime junk, nor sports, except NASCAR.

I read this in the newspaper today, because of the rash of TV shows like CSI NY and NCIS the police here in Britain have recieved a lot of applications from people who want to work in forensics, so surely this is a good thing!

And to come back to your question, I asked my uncle who is a detective inspector in the police, if they had all these high tech tools for the purpose of catching criminals, and he said yes, the taxi's in Britain have a transponder under the bonnet, and the police can track them whenever they want, wherever they be!

It gets worse than that - Ay Lyn

How macho can it be to shoot yourself in the privates with a PINK gun!

From the article:

"He is still conscious, there is just a lot of blood," Christopher, 26, told dispatchers.

One of them told Christopher to apply direct pressure with a dry towel or T-shirt - and avoid looking at the wound.

Too late. "I did look at it," she told a dispatcher. "It's pretty bad."

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2011/08/09/2011-08-09_arizona_man_shoots_himself_in_the_penis_with_fiancees_little_pink_gun_cops.html#ixzz1aVlM1K62

Looks like the same link Lyn - is there more elsewhere you intended to link to?

No, isn't that enough?

^{_{Sry - thought U might have local insider insight}}