P1 First Person: CSI as public relations

By Joe LeFevre
Police1 Member

For the past three months every other Wednesday morning I have been conducting an in-service training called “CSI refresher for patrol officers.” During the class I do an informal survey of the officers in attendance asking if and when they, as patrol officers, go about collecting evidence.

Answers always vary based on individual officer, department policy and shift staffing/call volumes. One answer, though, seems to be a reoccurring theme with a minority of officers. A theme that when mentioned will perk the attention of any supervisors who may be in attendance. One that the more I think about it should be on the minds of more officers. Officers using CSI skills build good will and professional faith between the community and the police.

Last summer, the subdivision my parents live in had what the neighbors called a “crime spree.” Many who read this will likely call it something else. Someone was breaking into garages and stealing beer.

This neighborhood is filled with guys who have three-car garages and that extra stall is decked out as a workshop or a “man-cave.” Like any good workshop/man-cave there is a refrigerator designated for beer. Builders in the area do not put a deadbolt on the side door from the yard into the garage. So the thief was kicking in the side doors and taking all the beer. People without a beer fridge were not being victimized. The victims, for the most part, lost nothing other than their beer.

“They did not even bother to take one photograph” was something more than one neighbor said about the police response.

Given the realities of the case at that time I did not think I would have exhausted much in investigative resources either.

This agency did a great job of canvassing the neighborhood both asking for information and also educating people about securing doors better to prevent this crime. No comments of gratitude for crime prevention efforts made it back to me, only the complaints about the lack of CSI.

Much has been said about the so-called “CSI effect” in the news media.

Supposedly, because of shows like CSI and NCIS, people expect the police to collect physical evidence at every crime scene. And here is a first-hand, somewhat-anecdotal, account of people unhappy with a police investigation because the officers did not use CSI skills.

To be frank, if I was the officer responding I would also feel these calls did not merit the commitment of investigative resources.

These calls do not require the commitment of investigative resources because any officer working patrol can accomplish the forensic skills needed here. A good set of photos (especially of any shoeprints on the kicked in doors) and checking the fridge for fingerprints would cover this scene. Doing this would take maybe fifteen or twenty extra minutes. If an officer can take photographs at the same time they talk with the victim, it may not even add that much time.

Think about it… who else did these victims complain to about the lack of evidence collection?

Imagine what the victims would be saying, though, had the responding officers done some CSI work. What value would that have for the image of your agency?

At the start of this piece I mentioned from an informal survey I was taking during in-service training. Only a small number of officers said they utilize CSI skills at the minor crime scenes we all know are unlikely to be solved. But the officers who did say they use CSI at minor scene did so for a twofold reason. First these officers commented about keeping in practice with skills that are perishable. Second they wanted the victim to know the department took this call seriously, as in the PR value.

One officer explains that working in a smaller town he often encounters citizens who assume their local cops must be Barney Fife like. When he takes a few photos and puts some broken glass in an evidence bag these citizens become ecstatic. In just a few seconds their view of the local PD is elevated. The local officers are no longer a joke they now are professionals in this victim’s mind.

I am a realist and know that not every call for service will require rolling out the crime scene unit. Any officer working the street today can easily accomplish the basic skills necessary for many minor crimes. Physical evidence has a new found important role in the justice system so officers should be thinking about it more. Supervisors then ought to be encouraging the officers to do a little forensic work (provided of course staffing levels and call volume make it appropriate to do so). Even if the physical evidence does not solve the crime, doing a little CSI work could create goodwill for the agency.

Joe LeFevre is a former police officer, evidence technician, and fire investigator. He now teaches full time at Fox Valley Technical College in doing both degree program classes and Police Academy training.