I HAVE TO AGREE WITH BRENT McGEE. I JUST FINISHED WATCHING "INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING" : COPYCAT CRIMES: IMITATES MOVIES" CRIMINALS HAVE "CLAIMED THE MOVIE MADE ME DO IT" WHEN IN FACT, THEY ARE IN DE-NILE, NOT DE-RIVER. PEOPLE WHO ARE SO SICK MENTALLY DON'T FIGURE THINGS LIKE MORE NORMAL PEOPLE, THEIR THING IS ON A DIFFERENT LEVEL, SOME OTHER KIND OF "PUSH" WHICH MAKES THEM DO WHAT THEY DO AND THEY SEE AND ACTUALLY THINK THAT THEY HAVE DONE NOTHING WRONG. I HAVE A PARANOID SCHIZOPHRENIC FRIEND, I KNOW HIM VERY WELL THRU THE GOOD DAYS & THE BAD DAYS. HE IS OKAY AS LONG AS HE TAKES HIS MEDS & DOESN'T DRINK. DRINKING WILL FIRST MESS UP THE MEDS, THEN CAUSE HIM TO 4-GET TO TAKE THEM, NEXT THING YOU KNOW, HE IS SEEING & HEARING THINGS, VOICES THAT TELL HIM TO DO THINGS, HE BECOMES UNCONTROLLABLY VIOLENT AND IS A DANGER TO HIMSELF & ALL AROUND HIM. THIS COUNTRY NEEDS MORE PROGRAMS FOR THE MENTALLY ILL WHO ARE TIED TO SUBSTANCE ABUSE AS THE TWO RUN HAND IN HAND AND THIS IS WHERE YOU WILL FIND THE BUDDING SERIAL KILLERS

Quote-The more sophisticated the television story lines get, the better equipped criminals will be, Peavy said, adding that he never watches "CSI" because it's too unrealistic.

Now that quote cracks me up because how do you know that they are getting all their ideas from CSI..because they say so..they're crooks..everything they say is a lie!

That's like me saying that all marriages are ending because women are behaving like the crew on Desperate Housewives..but I don't watch the show so I have no clue.

The fact is, people are always looking to blame crime on something benign as a tv show. It's simply red herring to the fact that crime is a social problem caused by underylying factors such as poverty and racism.

What's more is just because someone tries something on TV, doesn't mean it's going to work for them. Thus the expression, "Don't try this at home folks." I watched 48 Hours once and these two kids were incarcerated for murdering a friend of theirs. At first they had tried to break her neck in a certain that they had 'seen on tv' but were freaked out because 'it didn't work like it did on tv!'

Criminals have been trying to cover their tracks since the days of Sherlock Holmes novels.

I think CSI has in fact given a lot of positive coverage to crime scene investigations. A new appreciation of all the intricate work that's put in as come out of the show as well as a level respect given to foresnics officers. That's why CSI was considered a 'groundbreaking' show because no other crime show had ever covered that area.

Quincey certainly started down the road, but we didn't get the visuals with Quincey that we do with CSI.

In shows like Law and Order, the crime scene folks were just in the background taking pictures and dusting for finger prints. They were an afterthouhgt.

As well, CSI has given a new 'coolness' to science. Now we see science in action.

I don't mean to babble, but I really get irritated when people use a tv show to blame problems on.

And by the way, I don't think I can save a life just because I watched hundreds of hours of ER.

People have been saying that TV (and before them movies) have been teaching aids for criminals since Griffith made "Musketeers of Pig Alley" in 1912. After all, how did crooks figure out how did the hoods find out about finger prints.

The real "threat" of shows like "CSI" is that juries are demanding that the police and prosecuters have all the data that the people on the shows are able to produce at the drop of a hat, some of which (like the photo enhancement software that often breaks a clue about a vehicle license plate or some dim reflection) doesn't actually exist.

I recognize that job of a DA prosecuting must be extremely difficult and that they are overworked and udnerpaid and not appreciated, but TV making smarter criminals? What about those paper things called books? There are THOUSANDS of books on this sort of stuff with meticulous detail of the exact chemicals used, methods and practices. Give me a break to all those prosectors that think that TV made their killers smarter. They just are bad lawyers, stop blaming other things for why a case can;t be closed. True, shows like the first 48 and other non fiction shows could potentially help, but the thought that modern Network TV is making smarter criminals is insane. Books have been doing it for centuries! I guess we have no need to worry about Farenheit 451 anymore as according to some lawyers its tv that needs to be stopped.

now, how can one be soo stupid?! planning everything perfectly and then the frozen lake thing...

made me think about the www.darwinawards.com/

I have heard a bunch of people complain that these investigative shows tell too much about how criminals are caught, and give them ideas of how to get away with their crimes. However, I have to mention that they also can help people learn how to not become a victim!

It sounds lame, but I was in a situation in Las Vegas not long ago, where watching CSI and Las Vegas in particular helped me get out of what could have been a really bad situation. I recognized signs of a potential attacker, and knew that refusing to leave the casino floor (and the thousands of cameras watching it) would ensure that I would not be isolated with someone who could have hurt me.

When telling friends about my experience, I said "It started like the beginning of a CSI episode.." A stupid girl not being aware of her surroundings, getting isolated with her attacker and getting herself raped and killed. It happens every day, but when you know what to look for and are more aware of your surroundings, you will be less likely to become a victim.

Now thats funny also they had a report on Fox this morning about crooks watching csi on how to commit the perfect crime.