Chapter 7
Leaving Impressive Impressions: Shoes, Tires, and Tools
IN THIS CHAPTER
Using shoeprints to identify the perpetrator
Identifying tire tracks as evidence
Analyzing and using tool-mark evidence
Recognizing fabric patterns
“Watch where you step” is good advice for a criminal. For a farmhand, too. Many suspects have been connected to crime scenes by the tracks of their shoes. Even though shoes are manufactured in vast numbers, and the same shoe brand and size may be worn by any number of people, your particular walking pattern still may give you away.
Tires and tools also leave impressions that usually are classified as class evidence (see Chapter 3), meaning that they can exclude certain types of shoes, tires, or tools but can’t absolutely identify a particular one. The tread pattern of a shoe or a tire may identify the size and the manufacturer of the product, and that information narrows the search for the perpetrator by focusing the investigation on sellers and buyers of the particular product.
Stepping Out: Shoeprints as Evidence
When the shoe fits, criminals often ...
Get Forensics For Dummies, 2nd Edition now with the O’Reilly learning platform.
O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.
