 The CSI effect may alter how crimes are committed . In 2000 , the year that CSI : Crime Scene Investigation debuted , 46 @.@ 9 percent of all rape cases in the United States were solved by police . By 2005 , the solve rate had fallen to 41 @.@ 3 percent . Some investigators attributed this decline to the CSI effect , as crime shows often explain in detail how criminals can conceal or destroy evidence . Several rape victims have reported that their assailants forced them to shower or clean themselves with bleach after their assaults . In December 2005 , Jermaine McKinney broke into a home in Trumbull County , Ohio , where he murdered two women . A fan of CSI , McKinney went to unusual lengths to remove evidence of his crime : he cleaned his hands with bleach , burned the bodies and his clothing , and attempted to dispose of the murder weapon in a lake . McKinney was eventually apprehended . Ray Peavy , head of the Los Angeles County homicide division , commented that , in addition to teaching criminals how to conceal evidence , crime shows may even " encourage them when they see how simple it is to get away with [ it ] on television . " 
