It seems like there’s a ‘CSI? television show on almost every night of the week. Each is set somewhere different and glamourous like Las Vegas, Miami and New York.
‘I try not to watch them,? said Rob Charlton, who works as a forensic lab specialist for the Oakland County Sheriff’s Department. ‘David Caruso (who stars on the Miami show) just bothers me. Every time I see him, it just turns me off.?
Charlton, a 43-year-old Oxford Village resident, got involved in Crime Scene Investigation long before it became the hot topic among Hollywood producers and TV viewers.
He spent the last 14 years of his two-decade career with the OCSD processing crime scenes and analyzing evidence in the laboratory in Pontiac.
Most of the time, Charlton is working as part of the lab’s firearms/tool mark unit. He spends much his days analyzing and testing guns, bullets and cartridge cases.
For someone who’s always enjoyed hunting and target shooting along with learning about weapons, the unit was a natural fit for Charlton.
‘It’s fund being able to actually work with your hands,? he said. ‘You’re not just looking through a microscope at latent fingerprints all day.?
Guns aside, Charlton examines impressions made by footwear and tires at crime scenes and is one of two experts in the lab on blood-spatter analysis. He also identifies the type of tools used in crimes by the impressions and marks they leave behind.
But don’t think for one second he’s just some guy in a white coat suck inside a lab all day. He also gets called to crime scenes.
Charlton’s one of seven lab members who rotate bringing home a mobile crime lab for a week at a time.
‘We’re on call 24 hours a day for the seven days that we’re on call,? he said. ‘When you get done with the call, whether it’s 2 p.m. or 2 a.m., you come in and start your day.?
The crime lab’s called in for ‘anything suspicious? or ‘out of the ordinary.? It could be anything from an unattended death to a recovered stolen vehicle to a multiple homicide. Besides working on OCSD cases, Charlton said any municipality can request the forensic lab’s assistance.
When he gets a crime scene, Charlton’s responsible for doing everything from taking photos and obtaining latent fingerprints to making casts of footwear or tire impressions and taking measurements. While at a scene, his job is to document, preserve and collect any and all evidence.
‘We do pretty much all of it,? he said. ‘Unless we can call and get someone (from the lab) to give us a hand, we’re it.?
Once the evidence is collected, it’s back to the nearly 11,000-square-foot lab for analysis and testing by the 15-member staff. The lab itself is divided into four units ? latent prints, chemistry/toxicology, firearms/tool mark and a forensic artist who does composite sketches, facial reconstructions and age progressions.
Last year, Charlton indicated the lab processed at least 3,100 cases.
Sometimes people wonder why certain cases take several months to solve ? why they aren’t solved over night like on television.
Charlton explained ideally, the lab would like to handle the cases in order as they come in.
However, when things start getting backed up, they must first deal with cases involving the ‘heavier? charges. Violent crimes take precedence over property crimes.
Often, Charlton and his colleagues get called in to court to explain these things to juries, who don’t understand that forensic science in the real world doesn’t work like it does on television.
The television CSI ‘have to get it fixed and solved in an hour,? whereas the reality is ‘you may be on a case for a week or more at a time,? Charlton explained.
Courts and prosecutors rely on the real-life experts to combat what Charlton called the ‘CSI effect.? For instance, some juries don’t understand how a weapon can be tested for latent fingerprints and the lab finds none.
On television, the lab almost always finds fingerprints because otherwise it would make for ‘dull? viewing.
But in reality, Charlton said a person can touch something and not leave any good prints, or even any prints, at all.
‘You don’t get a big fat juicy fingerprint every time you touch something,? he said. ‘A lot of people don’t understand that, so they’ll call us in.?
There are some similarities between CSI on television and in real life.
‘Some of the things that they work with (on TV) are some of the same materials and equipment that we have,? Charlton said.
But on TV everything works much faster and in a much less glamourous fashion.
For example, on television the computer fingerprint identification system shows the print flashing on the screen until a positive match comes up.
‘Ours is nothing like that,? Charlton said. ‘The information is put into the system. It goes into the database and depending on how busy it is, it may take an hour to come back. Usually, it takes overnight. You come back the next morning and you might have an answer.?
One of the biggest differences between Charlton’s job and duties usually portrayed in fiction is that on television, the CSI does a lot of investigating and interviewing suspects and witnesses.
‘We don’t do that,? Charlton said. ‘We don’t do any of the legwork, the detective work. We strictly work with evidence and anything inside the lab.?
One would think that all the real things that can be learned from watching CSI shows would make for smarter criminals and more polished cover-ups.
But Charlton indicated that’s not the case.
‘For as long as the TV shows have been on and for all the little ideas you can pick up from those shows ? wear something on your feet, wear gloves ? more often than not you get people that don’t wear gloves,? he said. ‘That’s the big thing, leaving the fingerprints behind.?
‘With all the ideas that are there, I haven’t really noticed that much of a difference.?
Although Charlton’s spent most of his law enforcement career working in the lab, he doesn’t have a science degree. He actually has a bachelor’s degree in communications (with a minor in political science) from Oakland University.
‘I’m probably one of the last that will get into the laboratory without having a science degree, a science background,? he said.
Charlton spent the first seven years at the OCSD in corrections, but decided he wanted to do something different when he went to the police academy.
When a spot opened up in the lab, he jumped at the chance.
Everything he needed to know he learned from taking classes on his own at Oakland Community College, riding along with forensic lab specialists on his own time, taking training classes and working under a mentor or court-qualified examiner.
For those interested in crime scene investigation as a career, Charlton said it’s great that Oxford High School will begin offering such classes this fall.
‘It lets them know early on that it’s going to be a very math-oriented, very biology-oriented, very science-oriented field,? he said.
However, he warned job opportunities aren’t abundant in the CSI field.
‘There aren’t very many labs nationwide when you really break it down,? he said. ‘It’s a neat field and it’s kind of been glorified, but when you really break it down, you’ve got all these people that currently want to get into the business and minimal jobs available.?
Charlton also warned against making your area of study or career path too specific before entering college.
‘You’re going to kind of hurt yourself,? he said.