1. ANALYZING SHOE PRINTS IN A CRIME SCENE
By: Abigail Waugh
Statesville High School
Summer Ventures in Science and Math 2009
Visual and Image Processing
Dr. Rahman Tashakkori, Mr. Jere Miles, Ms. Biva Strestha
Appalachian State University
July 2009

2. What can a shoe print tell??

3. Shoe Size
Brand of Shoe
Events that occurred during a crime
Basic profile of a person
Positive match of someone

4. Hypothesis
By using an image processing, one can determine the factors of a shoe print

5. Why are shoe prints important?
Used to determine the events that occur in a crime
Has caught many criminals

6. Background Each shoe print is unique Shoe print database
Three different kinds of shoe prints
Shoe print database
Methods used to analyze shoe prints at the scene
Photograph
Dusting powder, electrostatic lifting, oil, plasters
Depends on weather condition
Use database
~Everyone walks differently and treads a different path i.e. someone who runs vs. someone who rides cars
~More common than fingerprints
~Kinds of shoe prints-
1) Patent- clearly visible; paint, dirt, or blood
2) Plastic- soft, 3-D such as snow or mud
3) Latent- not visible to naked eye, glass or concrete
~Dry conditions- electrostatic lifting; Wet conditions- oils, casts, or sprays
~ Databases- SoulMate, TreadMark

7. Materials Dirt and Water=Mud Large pieces of paper Measuring tape
Camera
Image J

8. Methods Make shoe print in three different locations
Take pictures of shoe prints from various different angles and take picture of actual shoe
Record actual height, shoe size, and shoe brand
Use Image J to determine shoe size
Compare shoe prints to shoes in “database” to determine the brand
~ Chose plastic, mud prints b/c clearer
~ Paper was best
~ Take picture of whole thing then close ups
~Shoe size in inches was determined by measuring scale of paper then measuring shoe print
~Tennis shoe- missing spot in center; Flip-flop-whole print
~ Each brand has different pattern-i.e. Converse

9. Measurements Name Shoe Size Shoe Size (Inches) Height (Inches) Brand
Alex Chin 10
11.5
66.5
Avia
Amy Kalinowski 7
67.5
Rainbow
Jean-Luc Rivera 12
12.5
71.5
Converse
Greg Taylor 11
73.5
Ethan Sherbondy
10.5 72
Asics
William Greene 9
72.1
Adidas
Brynn Claypoole
7.5 65
Maria Lucas 64
Manoj Mirchandani 13
13.5
63.5
Nike
Hailey Little
11.25 71
Reef
Josh Hodges
70.75
Sketchers
Meg Everist 8
American Eagle
Hall Liu 69

11. Compare Shoe brand

12. Results Name Shoe Size Shoe Size (Inches) Height (Inches) Alex Chin 10
11.474
66.5
Amy Kalinowski
6.5-7
9.226
67.5
Jean-Luc Rivera
11.5-Standard
12.482
71.5
Greg Taylor
11-Standard
12.289
73.5
Ethan Sherbondy
12.239 72
William Greene
10~11
12.186
72.1
Brynn Claypoole
7.5-8
10.56 65
Maria Lucas
7-7.5
9.899 64
Manoj Mirchandani
13.46
63.5
Hailey Little
11.351 71
Josh Hodges
12.472
70.75
Meg Everist
8-8.5
10.499
Hall Liu
9.5-11
12.003 69

13. Conclusions Shoe size in inches can be determined by image processing
There is hardly any correlation between height and shoe size
It is difficult to obtain exact shoe size because of the different brands and manufacturers. An accurate range was, however, able to be determined.

14. Future Work
See if there is a correlation between height and shoe size in adults
Study more difficult shoe prints
Analyze latent prints
Examine marks and tears on shoes to make positive identification

15. Acknowledgements Dr. Tashakkori Jere Miles Biva Shrestha VIP class
Summer Ventures