Footprints are a piece of impression evidence which can place a suspect at a crime scene, based on unique shoe sizes or patterns. An orthopedic student in Scotland investigated the possibility of identifying signature body movements off the tracks, using a 3-D motion-capture system, in a dissertation. Fernando Bueno Neves, of the University of Dundee, found that he could determine if a person was walking or running at a scene – but it fell short of trademark movements or gait, according to an announcement by the school. Eleven volunteers walked and ran with bare feet or shoes covered in artificial blood. A motion-capture system recorded the movements. Techniques to isolate and identify a person’s movements based on the impressions were limited – but the student said the pilot study could lay the tracks for further investigation. “Crime fiction has fascinated me since I was young, so I had the desire to know the limitation of actual forensic research and to recognize what investigators can achieve,” said Neves, who is completing a degree in applied orthopedic technology. “This was my first attempt to conduct a study of this scale, but I hope that this pilot might help to design new approaches in forensic science.” The work is important in the current world of forensics, said Sue Black, director of Dundee’s Centre for Anatomy and Human Identification. “This is a really interesting and incredibly timely project, given the current high level discussions being held with the Judiciary over the communication of forensic science within the courtroom,” the professor said. The United Kingdom isn’t the only country considering major overhauls of the way forensic evidence is used in the courts. A reevaluation of nearly all forensic disciplines started in 2009, with the publication of a National Academy of Sciences report questioning all manner of evidence. It has prompted an investigation by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Ten disciplines are being reevaluated – one of which is footprint evidence. Currently, the evidentiary value of footprints is best found in trademark signs of wear, characteristic fittings, injuries, or other unique aspects of shoes, according to the textbook Techniques of Crime Scene Investigation by forensic scientist Barry A.J. Fisher. Size, make and model, and tread pattern have less evidential value, Fisher adds. But markers such as a limp, injury, drunkenness, carrying a heavy object, or even certain gait patterns can be determined by podiatrists, the book contends.

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ForensicMag