NCJ Number
158818
Journal
Journal of Forensic Identification Volume: 45 Issue: 6 Dated: (November/December 1995) Pages: 618-630
Date Published
1995
Length
13 pages
Annotation
A good footwear or tire tread cast is important to the results of a criminal investigation, yet many are reluctant to obtain casts.
Abstract
One reason casting is not done is that older casting methods were generally ineffective, unproductive, and unreliable. Newer materials combined with easier and better methods offer a solution. Making a cast is important since footwear evidence can be found at almost all crime scenes in two basic forms, impressions and prints. The cast gives life-like and actual size molding of the original impression, including uneven surfaces and depth, and also reproduces microscopic characteristics. In deep impressions, the cast reproduces characteristics on the side of shoe outsoles and midsoles which are usually not reproduced in photographs. Traditional casting methods are described, and the effectiveness of a new casting product known as Traxtone is demonstrated. 3 references and 1 table