Personal Review on the TV Show 'Criminal Minds'

There are many television shows out there about criminal investigations. Some popular ones you may know are Criminal Minds, Law & Order, and CSI. These shows produce crime scenes and investigations in order to entertain their viewers. What these producers don’t realize is that there “entertainment” actually affects the real world’s thoughts on criminals and court rooms, this is called the CSI Effect. The CSI Effect is a theory that these television shows make it to where a jury wants more and more forensic evidence to make a decision to convict a suspect. This theory is most believed by prosecutors and law enforcement personnel. The truth is though, probably half of the prosecutors watch a crime scene television show themselves.

Personally I watched Criminal Minds. Throughout the series each episode seems to drag on longer and longer. This is because they try to find every little detail of evidence possible. Yes, this is the right thing to do when trying to find a criminal, but it has trained me to not be certain until I know everything. I’m sure other viewers feel the same way as I do, and this is why the theory was made. This is why I believe in the CSI Effect. I don’t think it is that big of a problem because the court gets to choose who they want for their jury, so at the end of the day it’s the courts fault for selecting bad jurors. The producers of these kinds of shows don’t have the mindset to inform people about how real crime investigations really are, and I think that’s why all of this controversy has come up. Making money is what’s on the minds of the producers, and to make money they have to make the show suspenseful and entertaining. While on the other hand, prosecutors mindsets are to find the real suspect and put them away; no mercy or entertainment. This is where the dilemma is made, where both groups are trying to do their jobs to make a living but they both affect each other. Many normal people think court is very interesting and fun to be in, but the rude awakening is that court is one of the most serious things you’ll ever do in your lifetime. That’s why prosecutors are so upset at these tv shows for basically ruining their jobs.

Producers and prosecutors need to come up with a solution in order to be happy with each other. Both groups are just trying to do their job and live well. Maybe the producers and prosecutors could team up, and make it to where the producers can only make scenes based off of actual criminal investigations. That way it makes it entertaining and factual at the same time. One day, hopefully, the CSI Effect won’t be a problem anymore and everything will just be factual and correct.