NCJ Number
222849
Journal
Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice Volume: 49 Issue: 5 Dated: December 2007 Pages: 647-656
Date Published
December 2007
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This article describes the features and procedures of forensic barefoot morphology, its usefulness in including or excluding suspects, and its admissibility as evidence in court.
Abstract
Forensic barefoot morphology comparison uses the impressions of the weight-bearing areas of the bottom of the foot left at a crime scene to include suspects (as having possibly made the crime-scene impression) or exclude suspects (as definitely not having made the impression) in an investigation. A detailed examination of the shapes of footprints shows that barefoot impressions are quite different from one person to the next. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) has made a significant effort to demonstrate the variability of barefoot impressions. The research being conducted aims at providing objective support for the hypothesis that barefoot impressions are unique to an individual. The research has resulted in the collection of thousands of inked barefoot impressions from volunteers. These impressions have been entered into a computer program for automated data acquisition. The prints are being compared with one another, and to date no two impressions have proven to be the same, even for identical twins. A statistical analysis of the data has also been conducted, resulting in a probability factor for a random match of 1 in 1.27 billion based on approximately 6,000 sets of inked impressions. Although these results do not prove the absolute uniqueness of foot impressions, they do indicate the great variability between impressions, validating the use of barefoot comparisons as a means of including or excluding suspects. In Canada, barefoot morphology evidence has been successfully defended in both Mohan and voir dire hearings. In the United States, barefoot morphology comparison has been scrutinized under Frye and Daubert challenges and been accepted by the courts. 34 references