As a viewer of true crime TV shows, you might be wondering whether the real-life cases that they portrayed are accurate or not.
While the cases are always fact-based, we also know that dramatizations in shows take some liberty in their storytelling to create a concise narrative and make it digestible for the audience.
Exploring the Accuracy of True Crime TV Shows
The cases that are presented in true crime shows are always based on facts with sources such as court documents, reports, news footage, and interviews with the people involved whether it's the relative of the victim or a detective.
However, while they're fact-based, it's not 100% accurate as producers need to make creative choices on how they want to present the story and which information is more important to highlight for a better narrative.
When it comes to scripted true crime shows, producers and writers are always considerate of the storytelling and create shortcuts in the timeline to make it appear that the events are happening closely even if real life does not reflect it.
Most viewers may have also accepted at this point that true crime shows are not 100% accurate and they might even do more readings online about the case themselves to get the bigger picture.
In the end, even if it's not 100% accurate, true crime shows are still fact-based. After all, producers may get in legal trouble if they take too much liberty in presenting the facts of the cases.
What Do the Experts Think of Accuracy in True Crime Shows?
According to criminal justice professor Dr. Amie Scheidegger, crime shows do not tend to be as accurate as people might think.
"[Crime shows and dramas] have a tendency to oversimplify a very complex process. The interconnectivity between law enforcement and the court system is often lost, and the injustices that occur in the system skipped over," she explained.
The United States Department of Justice has also cautioned that "watching television programs like CSI has caused jurors to wrongfully acquit guilty defendants when no scientific evidence has been presented."
Scheidegger explained further that the timeline on crime shows is always concise unlike in real life where investigations always take months or years to finish and close the case.
"Crimes are not committed, solved, and tried within days or even months. [Typically], it takes years for a case to be solved and go to trial," she said.
In the end, it's up to the viewers to do their research on the featured cases in the true crime shows as the shows' presentation is not enough to showcase them in a truly accurate manner.
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