If the Shoe Fits --- Solving Crimes with Shoe Print Patterns

If the Shoe Fits ---

Solving Crimes with Shoe

Print Patterns

FOOTPRINTSFOOTPRINTS• They may not have

been enough to incriminate OJ Simpson, but footprints left at the scene of an incident are rapidly becoming the way to solve crimes

• It is possible to tell the height and build of an individual by looking at the depth and area of a print

Shoe Print LibrariesShoe Print Libraries

Today’s forensic scientists only have to photograph shoe prints and enter them into a database, and within a few minutes, they know the manufacturer and type of shoe

Preserving Shoe Preserving Shoe ImpressionsImpressions

• Footwear prints and impressions should be photographed: – As part of the general

scene– Also photograph with

a scale• Dental Stone is used in

casting impressions• Student investigators

use Plaster of Paris

Steps in Preserving Shoe Steps in Preserving Shoe PrintsPrintsTake

Photographs of footwear impressions at a crime scene1. In the first

photo only the impressions are shown

2. In a subsequent photo a ruler will be added to show sizes

3.Later casts will be made of the impressions