IAI Footwear case studies
IAI Footwear · Put your knowledge to work in context.
The IAI Footwear Certification is a professional credential offered within the certification program of the International Association for Identification, the organization that describes itself as the oldest and largest forensic association in the world. Within the IAI's certification structure, Footwear appears as a distinct certification category alongside disciplines such as Bloodstain Pattern, Crime Scene, Forensic Art, Forensic Photography and Imaging, Forensic Video, Latent Print, and Tenprint Fingerprint, and it is supported by a dedicated Footwear and Tire Track Examination Subcommittee under the association's Science and Practice Committee. The IAI Footwear case studies are 5 cases and about 3,280 words.
1Bloody Partial Heel Print on Ceramic Tile
A 42-year-old man is found deceased in a kitchen with a ceramic tile floor. Near the body, a dried bloody footwear impression shows only the heel and posterior midfoot; it is 7.0 cm long and 8.5 cm wide.
760 words, about 4 min2Cast Tire Track on a Rural Gravel Road
A cyclist is killed by a hit-and-run vehicle on a rural gravel road. Investigators cast a 4.2 m tire track in mud at the edge of the road.
657 words, about 3 min3Triangular Cut in a Dust Print on a Vehicle Hood
At a residential burglary, the suspect climbed onto the hood of a parked car to reach a second-story window. An electrostatic dust print lifter recovered a partial footwear impression from the hood: 24 cm long, with three parallel ridges in the forefoot and a small triangular defect in the heel.
674 words, about 3 min4Partial Grease Print on a Glass Door
At a commercial burglary, a latent footwear impression in grease was found on the lower pane of a glass door. A gelatin lift shows a partial outsole: the heel and midfoot are clear, but the toe is absent.
551 words, about 3 min5Tire Tread Transfer onto a Victim's Jacket
After a fatal hit-and-run, a tire tread pattern is transferred in blood and mud onto the victim's light-colored jacket. The pattern is a five-rib design with a distinctive angled sipe on the shoulder rib.
638 words, about 3 min