There is a similar scene when dr. Mayfield was resetting his desk clock and Columbo walked in. And after a short conversation he said to the doctor that he was amazed that he took time to reset his desk clock while he was hearing about Sharon Martin's murder.
That would never work now a days because his car would have been searched and certainly some type of forensic evidence would have been discovered.
There's a lot that wouldn't work today:
- DNA evidence
- Fiber and hair evidence
- Cell phone tower pings to verify alibi (For perps who don't turn their cellphone off).
- Tracing ability of every phone call, not just long-distance
- Other Improved forensics
- Columbo can't smoke in most of the places that he does on the show!
While "the lab boys" do identify a lot of evidence, most of the Columbo forensics is finger-prints. A few tire tracks and footprints, but not much else. Most of it is Columbo-derived circumstantial evidence.
I know nothing about forensics, but I know what you mean by that. Often someone commenting on some earlier story will say "That wouldn't happen NOW." But in a lot of cases, the same thing probably also wouldn't happen THEN. Or at least it wouldn't be that common.
Columbo used many new forensic techniques and high tech apparatuses that helped solve the crime and would not solve a crime today. Remember he introduced the Selectric typewriter and caught the killer because of the cartridge ribbon. Killers wouldnt be caught dead with a selectric typewriter today. He introduced the fax machine...now why would a guy fax a joke to his wife if he was planning a suicide. YEP, gotta be murder and the killers print gotta be on the paper. He intro'd the answering machine to get a greedy developer. He showed us a 50 lb cell phone and his understanding of the blackout zone caught Shatner in Shades of Grey. Today the cell phones know what we're plotting and have it recorded before we finish dialing. Let's not forget the fancy cigar cutter. Ah yes, we could go on and on.