How a Real Crime Lab Differs from Television at Vol State

By Abigail Vaughn

Vol State Community College will be hosting a “Forensic MythBusters: How a Real Crime Lab Differs from Television” event on April 18.  

It will be in the Thigpen Library in the Rochelle Center from 11:10 a.m. to 12:35 p.m.  

This event is part of the Feed a Friend and Fuel Your Mind Series hosted by the Social Science and Education Division at Vol State in support of the Feed.  

“Donations are welcomed, including pasta, sauce, PB&J, ready-to-eat-meals, and individual snacks,” said volstate.edu. 

This event is hosted by Brad Tracy with a special guest, CSI Lab Director Jennifer Hall from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.  

This event, “helps us understand how a real crime lab differs from what we see on TV,” said volstate.edu. 

“On TV everything is dark. They enjoy showing all the lights from the instruments for the colors that they emit in addition to giving an eerie feeling. In real life, our laboratories are brightly lit because we need to be able to see what we are doing and rely on the light to help us find important pieces of information,” said Director Hall.  

“On shows, everyone also has on ‘street’ wear and the women seem to always have on heels. In real life, we have issued clothing that we must wear. Tactical pants, polo/sweatshirt, boots, and a hat. This is for a couple of reasons: If something happens on scene, we know immediately who is on ‘our’ side. Secondly, any shoe tracks found after marking evidence will be easy to identify if it was made by a team member and missed during the initial marking of evidence,” said Director Hall.  

For more information concerning this event please contact Brad Tracy at bradley.tracy@volstate.edu or call 615-230-4783.