Crime-solving technology--CSI reality.

• Author: Mireau, Shaunna
• Position: ON-LINE law

I watch very little television. Occasionally, if I get home from work in time, I watch the early evening news ... long ago I realized that the late news was bad for my sleep. I also watch CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and its various regional derivatives, CSI: Miami and CSI: NY.

I like the original series best. In a world with less crime, I am convinced that Gil Grissom would have chosen library science as a career. His life's work is uncovering information ... not unlike librarianship!

Watching CSI has not only introduced me to new and interesting words (amylase, calvarium, epithelial, halothane, lividity, spalling--for definitions, see the CSI website at www.cbs.com/primetime/csi/main.shtml), it has also caused me to regret not taking biology in high school.

The program has also renewed my interest in crime-solving databases. LexisNexis--a fee-based, online legal research service (http://www.lexis.com), which I use in my job--has been mentioned on the show and is in the CSI "Handbook" under "Tools". The CSI team uses many different tools to find information. Databases like AFIS (Automated Fingerprint Information Service) figure prominently. In contemplation of this issue of LawNow, "What's New in Criminal Law", I can't help but ask what crime-solving databases are available to non-scientific but interested posers like myself?

What websites exist?

Whenever I am looking for information in an area that i have no experience in, I look for a professional association. In the area of crime analysis, I found several. A peak through the Yahoo! Canada directories found a wealth of information categorized under Society and Culture > Crime > Law Enforcement > Organizations > Crime Analysts.

The Canadian organization that came to light is the Criminal Intelligence Service Canada (CISC). The site at http://www.cisc.gc.ca is very sketchy ... finally an organization that doesn't give away all of its secrets to the criminals it is investigating! Unfortunately for the public, there is not enough information to get a good grasp of how they do what they do. CISC has as its key focus Canadian organized crime and acts as a partnership in information sharing with the RCMP and other law enforcement agencies. The annual report highlights share this information:

"Strategic co-ordination, commitment to intelligence and timely communication are all integral to the collective fight against organized crime. CISC acknowledges the public as an important and valued partner in the effort to detect, reduce and prevent organized crime and encourages cooperation with law...