NCJ Number
214955
Journal
Journal of Forensic Identification Volume: 56 Issue: 4 Dated: July/August 2006 Pages: 577-599
Date Published
July 2006
Length
23 pages
Annotation
This article identifies the variables in shoeprints that make each one unique and thus useful in tracing a print to a single shoe; procedures for analyzing and recording these shoeprint features are described.
Abstract
Shoe-sole defects consist of nicks, scratches, cuts, punctures, tears, embedded air bubbles caused by manufacturing imperfections, and ragged holes. The position, configuration, and orientation of each defect, along with a specific combination of defects, are unique for each shoe sole after it has been subjected to random events that have occurred over the life of the shoe sole. A defect is characterized by its position on the sole of the shoe. The determination of position may be made relative to the perimeter of a shoe print, relative to particular tread elements or portions of patterns, or relative to other defects. If a defect is anything other than a point, it will have a distinctive shape that can be measured in terms of length, width, and shape. Also, a defect of any particular shape will have a specific rotational orientation that differentiates it from another similarly shaped defect that has a different angular orientation. A print examination should consider these variables--position, configuration, and orientation--for each defect and then in combination with all the other defects. These individual characteristics, along with the class characteristics of the sole, enable an examiner to determine whether a shoeprint at a crime scene matches a suspect's shoe. 7 tables, 12 figures, and 2 references