Dr Max Houck, who teaches a forensic science graduate course at West Virginia University, expressed his frustration at the effects of CSI, a hit forensics detective show produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
“The CSI effect is basically the perception of the near-infallibility of forensic science in response to the TV show…This TV show comes on and everyone starts watching it - including the cops and prosecutors - and submissions to forensic laboratories go through the roof.” [He elaborated that] there were roughly 200,000-300,000 backlogged DNA samples in US labs…However, he admitted the show had had positive as well as negative effects on the field. “My university course started with four graduates in 1999; we’re now the largest major on campus - with 400 students.”
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