Court On and Off The Screen

Interning at DCFS has been quite the experience. The other day my supervisor and I were discussing the policies and regulations that DCFS workers and law enforcement officers have to follow when they are interviewing children that are potentially being abused by their guardians. Those interviewing the children have to be very careful about how they conduct those interviews or information that is shared could be thrown out at court. Later that day, after I had this conversation with my supervisor, I was watching Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. It was interesting to recognize the different techniques the actors used throughout their interviews while talking to abused children in the show. There were times that the actors used the rules that my supervisor and I had discussed to their advantage. Other times they definitely broke some of the rules that my supervisor and I had discussed but those were simply ignored or brushed under the rug. This just made me realize how much TV manipulates reality to make their shows more appealing to the public.