Juries’ view of DNA is skewed by TV crime drama , says La Plante

JURY members have “unrealistic expectations” of DNA evidence after watching television crime dramas that make forensic science look just too easy, according to Lynda La Plante, one of Britain’s best-known crime writers.

The forensic analysis of Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) is in fact painstakingly slow, but even more thrilling than fictional dramas suggest, the awardwinning Prime Suspect writer said.

She said: “A lot of drama productions … know nothing about the scientific side, are not interested in getting the authenticity right. For me, it actually makes the drama. The scientific advances we have today are absolutely phenomenal.”

Ms La Plante, whose extensive research has taken her to murder trials and forensic laboratories, said: “Juries – and criminals – watch crime series, just like the rest of us, and these often give an unrealistic view of what is possible with forensics… I’m fascinated by the way that DNA is presented in court and the way that the jury reacts to this sort of scientific evidence, which is not always beneficial because I think jury members now have unrealistic expectations of what DNA can deliver.

“You get a feeling that they’re sitting there thinking, ‘well, with that DNA, the police should have got that decision… faster. Why have they taken so long?

‘‘But the reality is, it isn’t quite as simple as that, because… the scientists

must put in hours of painstaking work and care to prove that evidence is correct. Miracles do happen, but they take longer than most audiences have patience for.”

She expresses her views on seven podcasts, titled Listening to the Dead:

The Secret World of Forensics. Bonnier Books releases the sixth and seventh podcasts this month, coinciding with her new book, Buried.

Ms La Plante said that as forensic science is continually evolving, she has created the recordings to give the public a better understanding of it.

She said: “To me, the fascination in crime is discovering the perpetrator, how he did it, why he did it, when he did it. I don’t want to know his life… The police procedure fascinates me.”