Forensics: The Real CSI - Series 2

Episode
Episode 5 - Indecent Exposure
Broadcast Info
2021 (58 mins)
Description
Forensic Scene Investigator Drew Birtles is deployed to lead the search for evidence after a woman in her 50s phones 999 to allege that an engineer who visited her home by appointment to fit a smart meter has indecently exposed himself.
"We come across sexual offences quite regularly. To prove them is really difficult. A lot of the time there isn’t a witness and there isn’t CCTV. It’s my job to record and recover the evidence to prove or disprove what has or hasn’t happened," says Drew. With the woman clearly upset, Drew gently explains the purpose of his forensic investigation. "It’s knowing that for that person on that day what’s happened could be potentially the worst thing that’s happened to them that day, that year, or even in their lifetime. My primary concern is the victim has potentially been through something traumatic, so she needs to know that I am there to help." Drew uses forensic light sources to search the bathroom where the victim alleges the sexual offence has taken place. While the forensic team await the results of samples taken from the bathroom, which could determine whether sexual activity has taken place, PC Emma Bushe from Wolverhampton Police Station is assigned to investigate the background to the case. "I have to collect every single scrap of evidence I can in relation to a case. Sometimes it corroborates the victim, sometimes it corroborates the suspect," says Emma.
The engineer is arrested, and his DNA is compared with the samples recovered from the victim’s bathroom. But when detectives begin to question him, he denies that anything inappropriate took place. As results from forensic tests build a picture of what went on in the woman’s house, the suspect’s story changes and the forensic investigation becomes crucial to solving the case. DI Cate Webb-Jones from West Midlands Police Public Protection Unit says, "The forensic evidence is absolutely key. Especially when behind closed doors dealing with sexual offences - what can we actually prove?"
Genre
Criminology; Policing; Forensics

How to cite this record

The Open University, "Forensics: The Real CSI - Series 2". https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/ou/search/index.php/prog/239518 (Accessed 09 Jan 2025)