The real CSI

Picture the scene: A lone figure in a white boiler suit covered from head to toe is kneeling on the floor of a living room next to a body.  They are meticulously picking tiny fibres from a sweater the corpse is wearing.  

Cut to a few hours later – a laboratory assistant in a white coat hands a police detective the results of the analysis identifying the possible killer, fast forward again and within a few more days the case is solved!  

This could be a typical scene from any police drama involving Crime Scene Investigation or CSI as they are better known, thanks to TV shows like Silent Witness and CSI Miami which have popularised the officers in white suits.  

However, although the dramatised process may be similar to the real world of CSI, that’s where the similarities end.

Wiltshire Police has its own CSI Team made up of 16 officers of all ranks and is part of the bigger South West Forensics’ group which, when required, shares CSI staff and expertise from Wiltshire, Avon & Somerset, Dorset and Devon and Cornwall Police.

Here in Wiltshire, Paul Cooper is the Regional Forensic Co-ordinator.  He said: “Ultimately, our job is to record crime scenes and identify items with forensic potential that either prove or disprove a person’s involvement in an offence or corroborates a victim’s account.    

“That’s not only at witness or suspect level but also at officer level.  We might have an idea from a police officer’s account that “X” has happened but we then have to carry out an unbiased scene examination, and it’s possible that account won’t sit right with us because the evidence is telling us something else.”

CSI work is varied and daily business can include volume crimes like burglary, mobile phone examinations, assaults, fires, and more. These jobs are usually dealt with by the local force’s CSI Team.  However, major crimes like murder can be tackled at a regional level with experts from the South West Forensics’ group collaborating.

Paul said:  “We will look for trace evidence like hairs, fibres, glass, DNA, footwear marks, fingerprints and blood distribution.

“The job is not really like what you see on the TV – things like getting lab results take a lot longer; it’s quite labour intensive. My officers have to be really detailed in their examinations and note taking, recording it in such a way that we can present solid evidence to a court.  We work within very strict international standards of process and quality.”

 

Paul Cooper

Recently the Wiltshire Team supported Team Fortitude’s work in a County Lines operation to disrupt criminal gangs.

Paul Cooper said:  “My team would visit addresses where there was evidence of drug supply to examine the scene, including taking DNA and fingerprints samples, to help identify possible suspects.  We also dedicated CSI officers to the digital examination of mobile phones – downloading data for the investigating officers to analyse.

“It’s great for Wiltshire CSI to support a Wiltshire based operation.  But it’s also good to be part of a bigger organisation (as in South West Forensics) when it comes to major crime.  It doesn’t matter if you are Wiltshire, Avon & Somerset, Devon, Cornwall or Dorset we all come together and work on those incidents, and that integration is crucial when it comes to crime solving in our region.”

Another example of CSI’s role is the recent work carried out in the churchyards at Collingbournes’ Ducis and Kingston prompted by the unexplained disturbance of soil, discovery of some human bones in the topsoil and the disappearance of a headstone.  Working closely with CID, they planned a detailed forensic archaeological examination over several days to provide an informed explanation, concluding that this wasn’t suspicious.  

As with all investigative police work, everyone plays their part and Paul wants to remind officers making arrests that they have to be mindful of evidence which might be on the actual suspect.  

Paul said: “At crime scenes, more often than not, we are called to gather evidence - I see a person as no different.  I would say to any officer, please pause and ask yourself what’s the forensic potential on that suspect, that item or that scene?  In certain cases, it would be good to call CSI and take advice or indeed task us to assist and add value to the investigation.

“For example, anecdotally, I may be told there was blood on a suspect’s trainers – but there’s a lot of generalisation there.  As a CSI officer, we would ask more delving questions; is that blood fresh, what’s the pattern of it, where on the shoe is it, how much is there?  That’s the level of detail CSI would bring to that process and inform the investigation.

“I want everyone involved in a case to realise how important they are right from the start.  If we get that right then it can really help the investigation all the way through.”

Paul admits his job is a delicate balancing act, deciding on how to process what is gathered at individual crime scenes with that of time and money considerations: “After gathering evidence at a scene we then have to decide what the best route is to identify an offender and/or their involvement in that offence.

“Unlike on the telly, we do have to consider budgets – it costs every time we send items off to the lab.  If we can identify someone through say a fingerprint match with our own regional services rather than use an external DNA laboratory to get the same result, then we may do the former.  It saves us time and will save the taxpayer money.

“However, we have to do what is right for the investigation and if that means using the lab, possibly fast-tracking some work – despite the cost – then we will do that.”

So next time you watch Silent Witness or a CSI drama think of the painstaking but important work that is going on behind the scenes – work that isn’t shown on screen.

Although the fictional world is often very different to the real one, there is one commonality – both the real and dramatised police forces work hard to get the right justice for everyone involved.

Paul Cooper adds:  “Ultimately, we are doing this for the victims of crime to ensure they get the very best service from the police in investigating and eventually solving a crime.”