Abstract

During crime scene inspection, footwear impressions (shoe prints) are one of the most common pieces of evidence. It can establish the facts of the absence and presence of an individual at the scene, as well as the linkage of minute traces of the soil, dust, dirt, or any such material to the crime scene and the surroundings. In this study, the right-leg shoe prints from 100 participants (59 females and 41 males) of the Haryana population within the range of 18 to 50 years were collected. The parameters selected were shoe length, shoe breadth shoe size along with manufacturing marks (if any), wear and tear pattern, etc. Based upon the statistical analysis, this study provides us with information that shoe size and shoe breadth can be considered a few important parameters to differentiate between male and female footwear impressions. Therefore, this study could be used as a method for the gender determination of an individual from the available shoe print present at a crime scene and can provide a more accurate link with the suspect.

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