all forms. The footwear specalist performs the examination and comparison between the crime scene print and the suspect’s shoes.”
He does point out, however, that, “there are many examiners trained in gait patterns recognition,” who might be called to a crime scene and could possibly provide assistance with our zombie case. This, however, is unlikely to happen in the first few hours of a case.
According to technology sales representative Daniel Conklin, there is also highly specialized hardware and software systems for analyzing the collected evidence. “Many departments—at least the bigger labs and some of the private labs—have something like the Raman spectrometer, which can provide valuable ‘fingerprints’ for comparing and differentiating footwear materials. 7 Raman spectroscopy using the Foram685-2, is fast, non-destructive, can be performed on materials in situ and requires minimal operator training—an ideal technique for the examination of forensic evidence.”
The Zombie Factor
Matching footwear impressions to a zombie who is later captured or killed is not hugely important. Determining the identity of the zombie, especially of patient zero, is.
If the manhunt lasts more than a day, an expert in walking patterns may be called in. A zombie walks with a distinctive shuffling gait. That will leave equally distinctive footprints on the ground. Zombies are also indifferent to hiding their tracks, which means that they’ll walk over (rather than around) anything in their path, including mud, puddles, dust, and other surfaces that will take a useful impression. In the absence of K-9 trackers, the foot impression expert can often assist the police in identifying the attacker’s gait and provide useful details for officers to track that person.
----
Tracking the Undead Predator
Though K-9 trackers wouldn’t need to rely on footprint evidence, human trackers would. The tread patterns of shoes or the shape of bare feet are distinctive enough to the trained eye.
The skill of tracking is not something a person can usefully learn from a book. It requires a good coach as well as good senses, acute observation, concentration, patience, perseverance, alertness, physical fitness, a good memory, an analytical mind, an understanding of nature, intuition, and a creative imagination.
----
J UST THE F ACTS
Dactylosocopy—The Science of Fingerprinting
Fingerprinting is one of the oldest reliable methods of identification. Fingerprints have been used for thousands of years as a method of identification. The ancient Chinese used prints as signatures as early as the thirteenth century. In 1685 anatomist Marcello Malpighi of the University of Bologne identified the patterns found in fingerprints, describing them as loops, whorls, and ridges—terms still used today. In 1858 a British civil servant, Sir William Herschel, began requiring residents of Bengal, India, to use handprints for identification; and many years later discovered that the patterns of palm and fingerprints did not change as people aged. In 1880, Henry Faulds, a physician practicing in Tokyo, determined that fingerprints were unique enough to be used as positive identification of individuals. It was a fairly short step from that to the 1892 publication of Sir Francis Galton’s book Finger Prints , which became a landmark textbook on the subject, and in which Galton reinforced Malpighi’s use of whorls and grooves as unique identifiers. Nine years later Sir Edward Henry created a classification system based on five distinct types of prints—a system that informed the fingerprinting identification methods still used in Great Britain and the United States.
Perhaps the most significant landmark, though, was the 1910 trial of Thomas Jennings who became the first person in the United States to be convicted of a crime based on fingerprint evidence. Even when appealed, the guilty verdict was upheld based on the overwhelming evidence
He does point out, however, that, “there are many examiners trained in gait patterns recognition,” who might be called to a crime scene and could possibly provide assistance with our zombie case. This, however, is unlikely to happen in the first few hours of a case.
According to technology sales representative Daniel Conklin, there is also highly specialized hardware and software systems for analyzing the collected evidence. “Many departments—at least the bigger labs and some of the private labs—have something like the Raman spectrometer, which can provide valuable ‘fingerprints’ for comparing and differentiating footwear materials. 7 Raman spectroscopy using the Foram685-2, is fast, non-destructive, can be performed on materials in situ and requires minimal operator training—an ideal technique for the examination of forensic evidence.”
The Zombie Factor
Matching footwear impressions to a zombie who is later captured or killed is not hugely important. Determining the identity of the zombie, especially of patient zero, is.
If the manhunt lasts more than a day, an expert in walking patterns may be called in. A zombie walks with a distinctive shuffling gait. That will leave equally distinctive footprints on the ground. Zombies are also indifferent to hiding their tracks, which means that they’ll walk over (rather than around) anything in their path, including mud, puddles, dust, and other surfaces that will take a useful impression. In the absence of K-9 trackers, the foot impression expert can often assist the police in identifying the attacker’s gait and provide useful details for officers to track that person.
----
Tracking the Undead Predator
Though K-9 trackers wouldn’t need to rely on footprint evidence, human trackers would. The tread patterns of shoes or the shape of bare feet are distinctive enough to the trained eye.
The skill of tracking is not something a person can usefully learn from a book. It requires a good coach as well as good senses, acute observation, concentration, patience, perseverance, alertness, physical fitness, a good memory, an analytical mind, an understanding of nature, intuition, and a creative imagination.
----
J UST THE F ACTS
Dactylosocopy—The Science of Fingerprinting
Fingerprinting is one of the oldest reliable methods of identification. Fingerprints have been used for thousands of years as a method of identification. The ancient Chinese used prints as signatures as early as the thirteenth century. In 1685 anatomist Marcello Malpighi of the University of Bologne identified the patterns found in fingerprints, describing them as loops, whorls, and ridges—terms still used today. In 1858 a British civil servant, Sir William Herschel, began requiring residents of Bengal, India, to use handprints for identification; and many years later discovered that the patterns of palm and fingerprints did not change as people aged. In 1880, Henry Faulds, a physician practicing in Tokyo, determined that fingerprints were unique enough to be used as positive identification of individuals. It was a fairly short step from that to the 1892 publication of Sir Francis Galton’s book Finger Prints , which became a landmark textbook on the subject, and in which Galton reinforced Malpighi’s use of whorls and grooves as unique identifiers. Nine years later Sir Edward Henry created a classification system based on five distinct types of prints—a system that informed the fingerprinting identification methods still used in Great Britain and the United States.
Perhaps the most significant landmark, though, was the 1910 trial of Thomas Jennings who became the first person in the United States to be convicted of a crime based on fingerprint evidence. Even when appealed, the guilty verdict was upheld based on the overwhelming evidence
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