CLASS AND INDIVIDUAL CHARACTERISTIC EVIDENCE

PRESERVING FOOTWEAR ANDIMPRESSIONS• Footwear prints and impressions should bephotographed:• As part of the general scene• Also photograph with a scale• Dental Stone is used in casting impressions• We will use Plaster of Paris

Why are footprints important• Footprints and tireprints• When someone walks or runs, or drives a vehicle, over soil, impressionsare left in the ground. A frame is built around the print or track, a suitablecasting material is poured in and allowed to dry, and then the cast cremovedand photographed. As shoes and tires are used, individual characteristicssuch as nicks, cuts, and wear patterns develop. These characteristics mayshow up in prints and impressions and can be compared with a suspect'sshoes or tires.• Footprints• Through the skilful combination of tracking and footwear impressions, ions, it isoften possible to recreate the events leading up to, those occurring ring during,and those occurring after the crime.

Collection of evidence• Photography: Black and white film isnormally used, unless the impression is inblood, and oblique light is shone onto thefootprint. It is usual to take a series ofphotographs, each time varying the position ofthe light source, and a scale should be added tothe scene. If the surface is light, the print maybe highlighted using aerosol paint.

Footprint Analysis: What can theytell us?• Footprint impressions from casts and/or byphotography will give investigators informationabout:• · The number of criminals.• · Points of entry and exit.• · Positions of suspect(s),victim(s) ) andwitness(es).• · Direction(s) ) of movement/travel andpathway(s) ) through the crime scene.• · Time period, from short-lived impressions infrost, snow, dew.