Law enforcement officers use impression evidence, such as footprints, tire treads, and tool marks, to solve crimes. Latent impressions or casts are taken and studied by forensic scientists to provide leads and evidence for convictions.
Law enforcement officers and detectives use everything at their disposal to solve crimes and secure a conviction of the perpetrator. One type of evidence often collected at crime scenes is impression evidence. While the most common examples are footprints or tire marks, impression evidence includes any object or material that takes the form of another object as a result of contact between the two.
Just as criminals often leave fingerprints at a crime scene, they are even more likely to leave fingerprints. While a person can wear gloves to avoid leaving fingerprints, it’s nearly impossible to get to the crime scene without walking around at a certain point. Although fingerprint evidence is more useful in the sense that it can provide an exact match due to the fact that no two fingerprints are the same, footprint prints can tell investigators things like what type of shoe the suspect was wearing, the size of the shoe he or she is wearing and how much it weighs. They can also often indicate whether the person who did them has a limp or was carrying something at the time.
Tire treads are another type of impression evidence that is often used in criminal investigations. A tire imprint can tell investigators what type of tire it came from, who made the tire, and what type of car typically uses that type of tire. Tool marks are sometimes great clues when detectives are trying to solve a crime. A tool may have been used to break into a building or even as a weapon. By raising an impression, detectives can get a useful lead.
In order to use the clues left by the impression evidence, a latent impression or impression cast at the crime scene is usually taken. When the impression is a two-dimensional impression, such as muddy boots that have walked across a tile floor, powder is applied and a latent imprint is lifted up in much the same way that fingerprints are collected. When the footprint left is three-dimensional, such as tire marks in mud or footprints in snow, a cast of the footprint is made and allowed to dry before being lifted up to study. Tools often leave an impression when used and can be lifted by latent or cast method.
Once the print has been preserved, it can be studied by forensic scientists. In some cases, the hunch gives detectives a vital lead in apprehending a suspect. In addition to leading to the arrest of a suspect, a print can also be used during trial to convict a defendant by comparing the print to actual evidence found in the suspect’s possession, such as the boot or tire that made the print.
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