 Others argue that shows like CSI are not having any educational effect on criminals . Max Houck , director of the Forensic Science Initiative at West Virginia University , said although CSI may be educating criminals , people who resort to a life of crime generally are not very intelligent to begin with . It is also possible that crime shows have the opposite effect , if attempts to conceal evidence generate more evidence . Houck gave an example of criminals who avoided licking envelopes because of the DNA in their saliva , but left fingerprints and hair samples on adhesive tape instead . Tammy Klein , the lead investigator on the McKinney case , said that the killings she investigates are committed by people " who for the most part are pretty stupid . " Larry Pozner , former president of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers , argued that because people who commit violent crimes generally do not take precautions , television forensics programs are unlikely to have any effect on their behavior . 
