Internet Searches to Assist Footwear Examinations

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Useful Impression Evidence Information on the Internet

The Internet has some useful applications and information to guide impression evidence examination. Keep in mind that most of this information appears on the internet for shopping and retailing purposes, not for footwear examination purposes. Still, the resources of the Internet can be put to constructive use for impression evidence examination.

Wanted Page - http://www.intermin.fi/intermin/hankkeet/wgm/home.nsf/

CAST Website - http://members.aol.com/varfee/mastssite/index.html

E-mail Images of Impressions

Producers' Collection of Outsoles

Producers' and Manufacturers' Images of Outsoles

Manufacturers' Images of Uppers

Footwear Construction & Marketing data

Footwear Manufacturers' Contact

Wanted Page

This Site is run by the ENFSI Marks Working Group out of the Finland Bureau of Investigation. It is a posting of "unknown" footwear impressions so that the investigating agency can learn the brand and model name. Images are sent to Finland and posted on the Wanted Page with contact information back to the requesting agency. Impressions are kept active on the Wanted Page for six months. The Wanted Page has information as to where to send requests for posting on this site. Its website address is http://www.intermin.fi/intermin/hankkeet/wgm/home.nsf/pages/5D2BE2412FBECBE1C2256C8E00429A6F

C.A.S.T. Website

The CAST (Chesapeake Area Shoeprint & Tire track) website is a resource site for footwear and tire track examiners. It contains databases, links and instructions on the various aspects of these disciplines. Its website address is http://members.aol.com/varfee/mastssite/index.html

E-mail Images of Impressions

Images of footwear and tire tracks can be sent as E-mail attachments over the internet from examiner to examiner. These are normally done in an effort to recognize the brand and model of footwear corresponding to the footwear impression. Emailed images of footwear and tire track impressions often do not have sufficient resolution to permit a proper examination to known sources of footwear and/or tires.

Be certain to ask the receiving party what file format is best for them to receive your emailed image. The receiving party may specify a TIFF , JPEG , GIF , BMP or some other format which is best for them to store and print your image.

Collection of Outsoles

The internet is not a good source for a searching through a collection of outsoles. No vendor has posted a free site for coding and searching for a particular outsole design. These programs can be purchased and installed at your office desktop computer.

One website posts links that comprise a limited collection of outsoles: http://home1.gte.net/tracku2/soles.htm

The CAST website has a page that lists the outsole collection at several outsole producers. The outsoles posted at their websites will be referenced by their "article name", not by the brand and manufacturer name of the footwear bearing that outsole. The examiner would have to contact the outsole producer in order to learn the footwear manufacturer(s) to which a particular outsole has been delivered.

Images of Outsoles

The internet is a source for images of outsoles once the brand and model names are known. The brand and model name of footwear can be run through a search engine to reveal that footwear at a retailer or manufacturer website. Certain retailer Websites allow the site visitor to obtain half-page sized enlarged images of the outsole. The quality of the outsole's image will depend upon the resolution as set by the Website and the quality of your printer.

The same outsole design may be retailed under several different footwear brands. This is most likely encountered with footwear sold at discount retailers such as Wal*Mart and K-Mart. The only difference seen in the outsoles will be the appearence of the brand name in the arch region.

A list of these retailer Websites include:

http://www.thesportsauthority.com/
http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/
http://www.roadrunnersports.com/
http://www.zappos.com/
http://www.merc.rei.com/
http://www.dealtime.com/
http://www.theathletesfoot.com/
http://www.shoes.com/
http://www.dunhamssports.com/

Images of Uppers

The Websites listed above are sources for images of the uppers of footwear once the brand and model names are known. The brand and model name of footwear can be run through a search engine to reveal that footwear at a retailer or manufacturer website. These Websites may allow the site visitor to obtain enlarged images of the uppers. The quality of the image will depend upon the resolution as set by the Website and the quality of your printer.

A number of footwear will have the same outsole attached to different styles of footwear and different designs of uppers. The internet is a source to try to assemble a "line-up " of the various upper designs to a given outsole design.

Footwear Construction & Marketing Data

Manufacturer and retailer Websites can be visited to learn the construction and marketing details of a particular brand and model of footwear. The brand and model name of footwear can be run through a search engine to reveal that footwear at Websites that lists information including the size range, price range, number and particulars of the upper designs, style(s) of footwear, etc.

Manufacturer's Contact

Footwear Association websites and the CAST website can be used to gain contact information for a particular footwear manufacturer. A list of these association Websites with contact information include:

http://www.apparelandfootwear.org/
http://www.fdra.org/
http://members.aol.com/varfee/mastssite/index.html

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