For Immediate Release
September 29, 2009

DNA focus of free CSI lecture as series continues

Criminalist Caroline Kim cringes when she sees forensics specialist Abby Sciuto on television’s “NCIS” slurp Big Gulps in the lab and retrieve her lunch from the evidence freezer.

“We would never eat or drink in the laboratory,” said Kim, assistant lab director at the California Department of Justice Bureau of Forensic Services Riverside Criminalistics Laboratory. “We’re dealing with chemicals and the potential for contamination of evidence.”

Kim will be sharing what criminalists REALLY do in their labs during a free public lecture 6 p.m. Wednesday, July 22, at UCR Extension, 1200 University Ave., Riverside.

“DNA Evidence: Marking the Criminal and Freeing the Innocent” is the second in a series of free lectures as part of UCR Extension’s CSI Summer Academy.

The final lecture, July 29, will focus on narcotics investigations using K-9 detection featuring Riverside County Sheriff’s Deputy Ted Peterson and his K-9 partner, Carson.

“The Evening with an Expert series is educational, interesting and exciting,” said Jennifer Campbell, UCR Extension program coordinator for Science, Law and Health.

Kim will focus on forensic science in general and her specialty, which is DNA analysis. She also will talk about other programs that involve forensic scientists such as body identification following large-scale disasters, evidence collection and general education requirements for the job.

Kim said anyone interested in being a criminalist needs a bachelor’s of science in any one of the natural sciences like biology or chemistry and coursework in quantitative analysis. Three courses are mandatory for the DNA program: biochemistry, genetics and molecular biology.

The individual needs to be interested in learning, have good written and oral communications skills and flexibility since criminalists are constantly adapting to new procedures as laws change.

Because of the popularity of “NCIS” and other CSI-related televisions shows, Kim said some people get a distorted view of what occurs in a crime lab.

“We are a lot more methodical and there are a lot more nuances to what we do,” Kim said.

Forensic science is not intended to determine if an individual is innocent or guilty, that is up the jury to decide, she said. Criminalists provide scientific information to assist in the investigation and the legal process such as testifying in court as an expert witness.

Kim said the televisions shows do have a positive impact on her field.

“We get a lot more recruits when we want to hire people,” she said.

“The flip side is people kind of lose site of the fact that the TV shows are meant to entertain. They are not documentaries.”

For further information about the lecture series, call 951-827-5804 or e-mail sciences@ucr.edu