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

FOOTPRINTS 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 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 Impressions 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 Prints Take Photographs of footwear impressions at a crime scene 1.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