pigletbunny Review of Traces

Traces (2019–2022)

FINALLY, Fictional Scientists and Fictional Police Officers Act Like Real-Life Ones!!!

[8/10 · 24 March 2021]

SPOILER ALERT, for first episode! Pretty much every one of the many, mainly American, forensic-science-based crime-solving, tv dramas that came on the scene in the 2000s either started out as, or became, parodies of reality. In real life, when they analyze evidence, scientists try very hard to only state scientific fact. For example, that cardboard had been found in the toasting compartments of a toaster found at the scene of a fire. Whereas scientists in crime-solving, tv dramas state that finding cardboard in the bread slots of a toaster that was at the scene of a fire proves the fire was started deliberately by someone put putting cardboard in the toaster's bread slots. And, if, for example, real-life police detectives access computer files as a favour for a friend, they stand a decent chance of getting caught, thanks to police databases automatically noting every instance of access. If a police officer accessed a file without having a legally-valid reason to do so, and thus committed a crime, the evidence of their crime is right there, in the database's memory. In addition, a number of jurisdictions have their databases set up to flag any access not connected to a current, legally-authorized investigation of which the accessing-officer is officially a part. In the tv show Traces, scientists stick to scientific conclusions, and exhibit other ACTUALLY-scientific behaviour; police officers refuse to access police databases without having a valid, legal reason to do so, and exhibit other ACTUALLY-common police behaviour. (Note: there isn't much of a chance for Traces' police-officer characters to exhibit the sadly-common, bias-motivated police behaviours.)