NCJ Number
124500
Journal
Journal of Forensic Identification Volume: 40 Issue: 4 Dated: (July/August 1990) Pages: 217-223
Date Published
1990
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This study examines the origin and nature of air bubbles in various shoe soles for the purposes of forensic identification.
Abstract
Injection molded polyurethane shoes are studied to determine whether there is a significant variation in shoes that come from the same mold. The presence of significant variations would allow the conclusion that each shoe has a unique print. The production process of injection molded polyurethane soles is provided to illustrate how air bubbles occur in the shoe soles. Several shoe producers provided shoe samples for comparison. Shoes from the same mold as well as a representative sample of other shoes were compared. Examination revealed that the air bubble imperfections tended to occur in predictable non-unique patterns such that certain imperfections were found in all shoes compared. This finding would diminish the accuracy of shoeprint identification. Proper procedures are provided that would allow accurate shoeprinting of similar shoes. 5 figures, photographs, and 6 references.