footwear evidence
...inal investigation must prove that a person or persons was or was not present at the scene of a crime. Therefore, it is important to collect any and all evidence possible, whether it be a hair, fingerprint, semen deposit, or in the case of this research paper, an often overlooked footwear print. More and more criminals are beginning to try to conceal their identities. Most criminals will wear protection over their hands, such as latex gloves, or cover up their faces with masks. However, most criminals negligent in the manner of concealing another important piece of evidence which can be used as identification, and this piece of evidence is footwear. Often times, the crime scene will not be secured properly, which leads to the prints being overlooked, or in most cases, destroyed. In many cases, footwear evidence can lead to positive identification of a particular shoe which made a print at the crime scene. So why are footwear impressions being overlooked? Dwayne S. Hilderbrand, a lead latent print examiner, provides two important reasons. The lack of training and education in the proper searching, collection and preservation of the evidence, and the evidence is undervalued or not understood. Hilderbrand also mentions the lack of finding this evidence is due to not believing the impressions can be found at the scene after people have walked over the scene, incomplete searches of the crime scene, weather conditions, and the impressions have been intentionally destroyed as reasons for footwear evidence not being found. The search of the crime scene must always be aggressive and alert. At all investigations, one of the first considerations as evidence should be footwear. During searches, surfaces where the criminals may have entered or exited should be carefully examined and photographed. This is true because most of the residue on the shoes from outside surfaces may contain valuable impressions which need to be found immediately before being destroyed. Many substances which leave impressions cannot be seen by the naked eye and need special lighting, which is why careful examination should take place at the point of entry and exit. Footwear evidence can be found at almost all crime scenes as stated earlier. There are two types of forms; impressions and prints. The impression is described as a three-dimensional impression made in material such as mud, or any other soft material. The print is made on a solid surface by dust, powder, or other similar substances or materials. Footwe...