CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION: PHILOSOPHY, PRACTICE, AND SCIENCE: PART ONE

With the bluster of a football coach, Professor Shaler provides some interesting details about modern crime scene investigation, but he weighs this lecture series down with diatribes and an uneven speaking style. Shaler’s pontifications about the importance of the scientific method are not relevant to general listeners who are interested in learning practical aspects of forensic science. It’s particularly off-putting when he uses unscientific terms like “ridiculous,” “simplistic,” and “idiotic” when describing approaches and practices that differ from his own. While Shaler has a strong, clear speaking style, he also has a habit of dropping consonants—sometimes entire syllables—from the ends of words. This is particularly problematic when it results in the listener being unable to distinguish between the words “criminalists” and “criminals.” The lack of good direction makes an interesting topic disappointing. S.E.S. © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine [Published: FEBRUARY 2012]