Chapter 16: Casts and Impressions

T/F: Impressions fall not three basic categories: patent, latent, and plastic.

True

T/F: Plastic impressions are three-dimension imprints. These impressions can be left in off-road surfaces such as snow, mud, sand, or grass.

True

T/F: Depending on how it is made, impression evidence may be either class evidence or trace evidence.

False

T/F: When a shoe or tread impression is found at a crime scene, the crime scene investigator can obtain information about the person or persons involved or about the crime itself.

True

T/F: Databases contain the names fo specific shoe manufacturers and tread patterns used to identify different types of shoes.

True

Some factors that personalize our footwear include:

Body weight, the shape of the foot and the wearer's activities, the surface on which the person usually walks

It is possible to determine whether a person was running or walking by:

The length of the stride and the pressure or shape of the impression

The American Board of Forensic Odontology and the Innocence Project have estimated error rates for incorrect identification based on dental records. The estimated ranges of these error rates are:

63-91%

There are several different methods to make latent prints visible. These include:

Luminol to make bloody footprints visible, dusting of the latent print (reveals an impression and makes it visible to be photographed and lifted), electrostatic lifting and gel lifting techniques (capture "invisible" impressions)

A gel lifter is a layer of:

Thick gel sandwiched between paper backing and a plastic cover sheet

Consistent bite mark evidence alone is not sufficient for a conviction, but it does provide _______ evidence that may be helpful in building a case.

Circumstantial

The casting material used for snow is called:

Dental stone

Motor vehicles can leave:

Patent tire patterns, latent tire patterns, plastic tire patterns

A tire's tread surface is divided into:

Ribs (ridges running around the circumference of the tire) and grooves (indentations)

Track width is measured from the center of each tire to the center of the:

Opposite tire

The turning diameter is a measure of the smallest circle that can be driven by a vehicle or the minimal space required for a car to make a:

360-degree turn

When a vehicle turns a sharp corner, even at moderate speeds, a track is created by the additional stress put on the:

Front outer tire

Part of the process for determining whether a vehicle was involved in a crime is to paint ink on a tire and drive the vehicle over smith pavement covered with paper or cardboard. In order to ensure that all individual characteristics of the tread are captured when the tire print is made, what minimum length of print is required?

Three meters

Tire mark types include:

Skid marks, yaw marks, tire scrubs

What is the term used to describe when a charged piece of film is used to obtain an image left by a dry shoe?

Electrostatic dusting and lifting

Through experience and experimentation, investigators can estimate the speed of a vehicle by using the "____________" formula.

Skid-to-stop

Comparing bite patterns of a suspect to bite patterns associated with the crime scene involves comparing bite impressions and marks, the number of teeth, chipped teeth, and distances between teeth are a few specific details that may be compared. How many total points of comparison may be used when comparing bite patterns?

76 points

An adult's height is generally related to:

His or her foot size

What term describes the cuts that are made across the rib of the tire to improve traction?

Symmetrical

Every make and model of vehicle has its own track width and __________ measurements/

Wheelbase