Meet the forensics queen debunking ‘NCIS,’ ‘Silent Witness’ – CNET

A few years ago at the University of Tennessee, Xanthe Mallett stood around a decomposing human cadaver with a group of nine FBI agents.

Despite the hot, pulsating mound of maggots in the body before her, Mallett knew she wanted to help people by providing the police with forensic information for solving crimes.

Mallett is currently a senior lecturer at the University of Newcastle, but in the past she worked as a presenter for TV show “History Cold Case” and several others about looking into current and cold cases. Maybe getting knee-deep in maggots sounds unglamorous, but to Mallett, they’re “a kind of forensic mascot.”

It turns out that’s the first thing Mallett can tell you about her field, where people like her have been portrayed on TV shows as superhero forensic scientists that solve crimes solo.

“Forensic science is not sexy! And crimes are not all solved conveniently in a TV hour. It also requires a whole team of people working together, bringing different skills and experience to the case”, she said. “That’s a TV myth, and doesn’t reflect the professionalism or dogged dedication of real forensic investigators.”

Part of the reason shows portray forensics inaccurately has to do with the nature of TV.

“At the end of the day, fictional television crime shows are entertainment, so they can’t reflect reality too closely as forensic investigations are just not as fast-paced and adrenaline-packed as most people think”, Mallett said.

Not to name names (we totally are), but some shows have really missed the mark.

“More recently, I would say that ‘Silent Witness‘ has strayed a long way from reality — the most recent adverts even say that they forensic pathologists that are the focus of the show find clues the police can’t”, she said.

The experience of watching that on TV isn’t fun for Mallett.

“I find that a little frustrating, personally, as it undermines the professionalism of the police and other experts and their role within a forensic investigation”, she said. “Forensic pathologists, whilst playing a crucial role through undertaking post-mortem examinations in order to determine cause and manner of death, collecting relevant samples and providing reports, don’t do the police’s job.”

For “NCIS” fans, however, there’s some good news. (Disclosure “NCIS” is distributed by CBS, CNET’s parent company.)

“But one thing I think is great about these fictional crime shows is the portrayal of strong, intelligent women as role models, especially in the sciences (Abby Scuito the forensic scientist on NCIS is a great example of this).”

There’s even more praise for the show.

“Of all the fictional crime shows, NCIS is actually my favourite — and I’m not just saying that! I do have to suspend reality when it comes to the forensic aspects of the investigation; ignore them all wandering around in (what should be) sterile labs and at crime scenes not wearing full personal protective equipment to avoid contamination”, Mallett said. “But as it’s impossible to look sexy in (what we call) ‘bunny suits’, the white Tyvec suits crimes scene techs wear, I understand why the producers don’t make the heroes and heroines of the show wear them.”

For budding young forensic scientists, Mallett and Scuito aren’t your only role models. Meet Dame Black, whose name alone makes her perfect for a TV character.

“I was trained as a forensic anthropologist by the world-renowned Professor Dame Sue Black, from the University of Dundee’s Centre for Anatomy and Human Identification”, she said. “Dame Black is a force of nature. She revolutionised the science of forensic anthropology, really putting it on the map in the UK. I feel so privileged to have been trained by her, and I’m still inspired by her example, and whilst I fail hugely, I always aim to emulate her professionally. A character based on Dame Black in a fictional crime program would be amazing!”

Despite the shortcomings of TV shows like “Silent Witness”, Mallett says, “What programs like NCIS do for forensics is introduce the audience to new techniques.”

Here’s an example of when Abby Scuito used an impressive real-life technique.

“On an episode of NCIS I saw recently, Abby Sciuto analysed a hair sample to determine the isotopic profile of the hair, which can tell an analyst where the sample donor was geographically located (within certain parameters) when that hair was grown, because your tissues take on the isotopic profile of the food you eat and water you drink,” she said. “It’s a fantastic and not-widely applied forensic technique when it comes to human identification … and I was impressed to see it on NCIS.”

As for the future of these kinds of TV shows, Mallett has ideas.

“The next big thing in forensic investigation, in my opinion, is DNA phenotyping — the prediction of physical appearance from a sample of DNA, based in an understanding of how genetic information translates into physical appearance. This is an amazing scientific advance, and is going to have serious implications for forensic investigations.”

If TV writers can get their heads around that technique…

“I can’t wait to see DNA phenotyping on fictional crime shows, you know then that techniques have got people’s attention and are having an impact in the real world!”

Mallett’s book “Mothers Who Murder” can be found here and she’s currently working on a new true crime series that is set to air in early 2018.

“NCIS: Los Angeles Season 8” and “NCIS: Season 14” will be available on DVD in Australia from 30 August. UK and US release dates are to come.

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