ISSUE 53 Expert Witness Journal - Journal - Page 26
Police to Trial New Forensic
Footwear Process
Forensic experts are taking new steps to identify criminals caught on CCTV using the shoes they
are wearing
Staffordshire University and West Yorkshire Police
have teamed up to develop a new system which uses
3D scanning technology to help identify the type of
footwear worn by criminals.
the 3D model to the angle of the shoe captured on a
CCTV camera.
“We record a video of a shoe on the turntable under
each lighting condition, extract the frames and put it
into software that stitches it all together to make a 3D
model. The idea is that you can set it up and leave it
to record then come back when it has finished.”
While the analysis of footwear impressions left at crime
scenes is an established practice in policing, this new
approach focuses on the upper part of the shoe to link
offenders to a crime.
She added: “It is a quick and simple process, taking
around 30 minutes in total. The equipment needed
for this process costs less than £500. The aim is for this
method to be used by footwear units across the nation, and in the future detention officers in a custody
suite to scan a suspect’s shoe.”
Claire Gwinnett, Professor of Forensic and Environmental Science, said: “The number of cases in which
footage from body worn cameras, CCTV and even
phones is used to catch perpetrators has increased.
However, criminals often conceal their face and wear
dark clothing which means there are few identifying
features apart from their shoes.
Megan is currently refining the optimum settings for
the process before it is piloted by different police forces
in the new year. In future, it is hoped that this method
could be adopted to populate a national database of
footwear uppers which could be accessed by police
professionals across the country.
“The big questions is, how can you identify these shoes
and how useful is this as evidence?”
Funded by the Police STAR Fund, the team have
devised a fast, effective, and affordable method for
capturing data from footwear uppers by creating an
interactive 3D image of a shoe under both visible light
and infrared light.
Selina Reidy, an Identification Expert from West
Yorkshire Police, said: “With the increasing quantity
and improving quality of surveillance footage, we are
receiving a growing number of requests to identify the
make and model of footwear caught on camera. Having access to a searchable database of interactive, 3D
models of footwear under both white and near
infrared light will greatly improve the accuracy and efficiency of the current process. This work will expand
and improve the current evidence base and, with continued development, will provide an additional forensic capability that informs police investigations.”
“Most CCTV cameras use near infrared light during
nighttime recordings, which can make the footwear
look completely different than in natural light,” Professor Gwinnett commented. “So, it was important to
develop a method that will help police to quickly identify the type of shoe, how common it is, and importantly what it looks like under different lighting
conditions.”
Postdoctoral researcher Dr Megan Needham has
been trialing the method which uses a photography
light box, turntable and camera. She explained: “3D
scans, rather than still images, enable users to align
EXPERT WITNESS JOURNAL
Staffordshire University will host a workshop for
police professionals about the research in March 2023.
For further information please contact
megan.needham2@staffs.ac.uk.
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