From the Macedonia Police Department
If police work was only as easy as TV! I thought this might be an interesting point to share with the public. CSI type shows have become very popular on television. Eventually the crime fighters turn to someone in back of the CSI office in a dark room with several computes that has access to a myriad of information. With a couple clicks of their mouse they have pictures of a suspect, car he/she drives, shoe size, favorite restaurant, and the suspects mothers maiden name just to name a few. Its not that easy.
In the real world it goes like this…A suspect used her EBT card (Welfare/Food Stamps card) to make a purchase at a local store. While walking out the suspect notices a purse, grabs it, and leaves. Our investigation shows video of the previous purchase at the register and the EBT card used. In doing followup on the card we get transferred to the Dept of Family Services in Columbus responsible for EBT Cards. They inform us, per statute, that unless our case deals with Welfare/Food Stamps fraud they can’t help us. In their words, not even if this card was some how used in a murder they still would not be able to provide us with the information of the card holder. Seems laws are being passed to protect the suspects and leave the victims high and dry.
This isn’t the only CSI effect police and prosecutors see. Juries sometimes find defendants not guilty because prints and/or DNA are not taken on various cases thereby leaving some jurors to believe if the defendant actually did the crime there would be prints and DNA showing proof positive the defendant was the one who committed the crime otherwise without it they cannot convict.
Welcome to our world!
