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suspense, mystery, drama, and more," said John Viola, a criminal defense attorney and criminal justice faculty lecturer at San Francisco State University.

While Viola acknowledges and understands the true crime craze, he finds the overall genre to be symbolic of the goals of much of the entertainment industry.

"In today's programming, crime stories drive clicks. True crime podcasts are produced for entertainment and are editorialized and dramatized for that purpose," Viola said.

Still, many people remain true crime fans simply because they find the topic to be both entertaining and informative.

"I like true crime mainly due to the psychology and forensics of it all. And, as an assigned female at birth, I believe it'll help educate me more in how to protect myself in possibly dangerous situations," said Nico Werdermann, a student at San Mateo High School.

While documentaries constituted early forms of true crime in visual media, docuseries are now taking over. These shows have garnered multiple controversies, such as the aforementioned "Dahmer," in which a victim's mother accused the show of perpetrating viewers' desire to watch serial killers on screen.

"There are certainly docuseries out there that do a thorough job at portraying murderers and their victims, but of course, that's not always the case. The recreation of a famous murder, or murderer, for content, can sometimes lead to inaccurate portrayals, simply because you're having to adjust the character to make him or her more interesting, to ensure the audience is adequately entertained," said Jana Meisenholder, a true-crime focused independent journalist and investigative researcher.

These disputes have caused a significant commotion in the entertainment industry, with many bashing true crime creators for being unethical in handling real stories. Detractors of true crime call out the glamorization of criminals who are portrayed at the center of the series, along with the exploitation of victims' experiences by disregarding their traumas. For example, Rita Isbell, the sister of one of Dahmer's victims who spoke out at his sentencing in 1992, criticized the show for not contacting her whatsoever for permission. Isbell, along with her family, has denounced the show as unethical and retraumatizing.

"I find that people directly impacted by serious harmful criminal activity see nothing entertaining or sensational about their experience. Whether they are victims, witnesses, or even perpetrators, most people are appalled by the event and would rather forget it," Viola said.

Compared to docuseries made in Hollywood, Meisenholder points out how true crime-focused journalists and reporters concentrate on getting the real story, free of any bias.

"Any kind of trauma reporting is never an easy feat; first and foremost, I always try to reach out to the victim's family. As reporters, we're expected to flesh out and include every detail in the final draft, since our job is to inform readers of the whole truth. But, there are times when the information is irrelevant to the main crux of the story and would only serve to potentially retraumatize the victim's family. It's a delicate balance, and making those evaluations is integral to the professional responsibility of a journalist," Meisenholder said.

Overall, professionals advise watching true crime shows with a grain of salt, due to the typicality of the entertainment industry to overemphasize real events. However, while the ethicality of this genre remains to be seen, audiences' obsession with true crime will continue to be exacerbated with the influx of docuseries being greenlit by streaming services.

"True crime stories can be compelling and entertaining, but do not assume that they provide much information about the larger causes, conditions, and circumstances of a crime. Even with the most faithful reporting, individual accounts about a crime should not be used to set public policy," Viola said. l

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