Radio Smart Talk for Tuesday, August 16:

It seems so easy on TV.  Crime scene investigators examine the body of a murder victim, comb the scene thoroughly and invariably take a small piece of thread or a stain back to the lab for study.  Within 60 minutes, the fingerprints or DNA evidence identifies the killer.

Some of the most popular shows on television are crime dramas like CSI, Criminal Minds, and Bones.  They often portray forensic science as one big high tech laboratory with all the latest equipment that can nail any and all criminal defendants.   

Reality is much different.  Fingerprints or DNA often isn't found at real crime scenes.  Test results can take weeks to come back rather than 10 minutes. 

But the TV shows make forensic science exciting and more students have entered the field since the CSIs programs began attracting large audiences.

Prosecutors have also complained about a CSI Effect on juries, saying jurors often expect lots of scientific evidence at trial because that's what they see on TV.  The thinking goes that jurors are less likely to convict a defendant if they don't see the kind of forensic evidence they would on a TV show.

On Tuesday's Radio Smart Talk, we'll discuss real forensic science and what a crime scene investigator does with Dauphin County Coroner Graham Hetrick and Dr. Robert Furey, professor of integrative sciences at Harrisburg University of Science and Technology.

Listen to the program: