Trivia

Believing that CSI copycat shows were inevitable, CSI producers and CBS agreed to create this spin-off series in the hopes of being the first to copy the original CSI series.

Real-life prosecutors have complained about something known as the "CSI Effect", where juries have unrealistic expectations about forensic science, either expecting copious amounts of forensic evidence, in even routine cases, or expecting an unrealistic level of accuracy and specificity from the tests presented.

Much like the other CSI series, many of the cases portrayed were based on real-life crimes. The writers make certain changes, such as names, location, and other details for obvious reasons, but some details, such as manner of death and how the crime was committed closely echo the real crime.

On the flip side of the "CSI Effect", kidnap and rape victims are now known to leave their own DNA behind at crime scenes to give police forensic evidence to find. An example of this is how British serial sex attacker Jonathan Haynes was eventually caught. Haynes, who had avoided capture by forcing his victims to destroy forensic evidence was finally apprehended after the "CSI Effect" was used against him when one of his victims ensured her DNA could be traced back to her attacker by spitting in his car and pulling out strands of her own hair. Her inspiration for this act? The CSI franchise.

In real life, the Miami-Dade Police Department's crime scene processing unit is called the "Crime Scene Investigations Bureau (CSIB)", and unlike the television show, MDPD's CSIB technicians do not conduct laboratory testing. Miami-Dade Police Department has a separate Bureau that operates the Miami-Dade Crime Lab. Also, the CSIBs are not detectives, and most present day applicants are surprised to discover that the CSIBs do not perform most of the tasks depicted on the series. For example, they do not interview suspects, they do not write or execute search warrants, and they do not make arrests. In real life, they are directed around the scenes by the detectives and supervisors, not the other way around. Detectives are commissioned police officers (sworn personnel). CSIBs are non-police personnel, not sworn, and do not have the same arrest powers as police officers. However, they are very skilled technicians, and are a component of the police response to crime.