NCJ Number
143865
Journal
Journal of Forensic Identification Volume: 43 Issue: 4 Dated: (July/August 1993) Pages: 357-361
Date Published
1993
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This article reports on the testing of the value of the use of the electro-static detection apparatus (ESDA) in recovering shoe print dust marks on paper a number of years after the impression was made.
Abstract
In April 1979, the dust on the sole of a vandal's shoe left the pattern of the sole on a sheet of paper on the floor of a school being vandalized. The impressions, although faint, were suitable for a comparative examination, and one impression was positively identified as the shoe print of the suspect. The papers were placed in an envelope and filed away in the case folder. To test the dust print recovery powers of the ESDA, the author of this article removed the shoe-print paper from the file where it had been stored since 1979 to see what sort of sole-print image the ESDA would render in August 1992. The ESDA produced a clear and complete image from the 13-year-old dust print. The ESDA lifts dust marks from paper by electrically charging the ESDA film. 3 references