Article

Footwear Forensics: CSI Needs to Tread Carefully

Oct. 26, 2012 undefined A new computer algorithm can analyze the footwear marks left at a crime scene according to clusters of footwear types, makes and tread patterns even if the imprint recorded by crime scene investigators is distorted or only a partial print.

Footwear marks are found at crime scenes much more commonly than fingerprints, writes a team from the University at Buffalo, New York, in a forthcoming issue of the International Journal of Granular Computing, Rough Sets and Intelligent Systems. They point out that while footprints are common they are often left unused by forensic scientists because marks may be distorted, only a partial print may be left and because of the vast number of shoe shapes and sizes. However, matching a footprint at a crime scene can quickly narrow the number of suspects and can tie different crime scenes to the same perpetrator even if other evidence is lacking.

For more, go to - http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2012/10/121026100946.htm

Forensic Gunshot Acoustic Analysis is Heating Up.  Don't Get Burned.

ByDouglasPage                                                                                                Article Posted: October 18, 2012

Gunshot acoustics hold plenty of investigative promise, but analysis can be difficult even for experts.

If someone fires a weapon in the Federal Reserve Bank in San Francisco, a gunshot detection system instantly locks all security doors, trapping the shooter inside. In metro areas of cities like of Tucson, Los Angeles, and elsewhere, when a shot is fired, within one second of weapon discharge acoustic sensors stationed in strategic urban locations pick up the sound, automatically determine range and bearing, then notify authorities.

Both systems are examples of the role gunshot acoustics are beginning to play in law enforcement and forensics. Forensic gunshot acoustic analysis doesn’t stop with sensor networks. Forensic acoustic experts are looking at ways to exploit the proliferation of mobile recording devices for potential forensic gunshot acoustic evidence that may lurk in the audio files of cell phones and tablets that happen to record a gunshot.

“The ubiquitous availability of audio-capable mobile devices indicates that audio evidence will more frequently be part of forensic investigations,” said gunshot acoustics expert Robert Maher, the head of Montana State University’s Electrical and Computer Engineering department. Maher first became interested in forensic gunshot acoustics after a conversation with a defense attorney regarding a who-shot-first question based on an emergency call center recording. Although that particular case did not hinge on audio forensic analysis in the end, it did pique Maher’s interest enough to perform a series of scientific measurements. He is now a recognized expert in the field.

For more, go to - http://www.forensicmag.com/article/forensic-gunshot-acoustic-analysis-heating-dont-get-burned?page=0,0