Crime Scene Shoe IMpression Data Set

About the Study

To better support data-driven methodologies within forensic science, reference databases are needed to help researchers create and improve statistical models. The crime scene shoe impression data set hosted on the Center for Statistical Applications in Forensic Evidence (CSAFE) data portal contains impressions from 330 shoes: 165 of which are made in blood, and 165 of which are made in dust.

For each shoe, there is a high-quality test impression located in the ‘Handiprints’ folder. A different subset of shoes was used for each impression type.

For the shoe impressions made in blood: There is an unenhanced and an enhanced (E) version of each impression. All impressions are oriented with the toe at the top and the heel at the bottom.

For the shoe impressions made in dust: Three different techniques were used: 55 were lifted using an electrostatic lifter (ELS), 55 were lifted with a gelatin lifter (G), and 55 were made on paper (P). There is an unenhanced and an enhanced version of each impression. All impressions are oriented with the toe at the top and the heel at the bottom. The scale is positioned in the top right corner for all impressions.

The database is freely available to the public.