As forensic technology becomes more sophisticated, courts are demanding more scientific content and juries are expecting meticulous confirmation of facts alleged. Greater attention is now paid to increasingly finer details and improved methods of describing every form of evidence. Applying physics, chemistry, and engineering to the process of analysis and interpretation, Mechanics of Impression Evidence reflects the shift to these heightened standards and offers a starting point for significant change in the way that impression evidence is considered, utilized, and presented.

Concepts discussed in this groundbreaking text include:

• The three-dimensional nature of the human fingerprint and a shift toward a more holistic image of the surface of friction skin
• Dimensional stability and striation mark issues, which can change the way footwear outsoles are evaluated and compared
• The research and development of electrostatic scans that could possibly save lives and locate or describe evidence as never before
• The growing availability of new measurement techniques that can improve evidence testimony
• The use of personal experimentation to support conclusions or confirm that which is otherwise considered fact

Making use of logic and science to question our approach to impression evidence, this volume begins with simple ideas and basic notions and uses these building blocks to suggest and consider potentially controversial changes in the way evidence is located, interpreted, compared, and presented.

Presenting the hard science increasingly required by courts to back up expert opinion in cases that hinge on impression evidence comparison, this book applies the methods of physics, chemistry, and engineering to analysis and interpretation of fingerprints, footwear and tire tread impressions, and bloodstains. Using easily accessible language, it shows the scientific method behind each of these discrete disciplines. It then combines and cross-references the knowledge within each to ultimately present a more generalist approach and thus a more informed judgment.