EXPERIMENT NO.

4
Principles of Casting and Molding for Footwear and Tire Impression

I. Introduction:

A shoe or a rubber item frequently leaves a pattern on a surface it strikes that

shows distinct characteristics associated with the object. This is called an
“impression”. Analysis of collected impression evidence found at a crime
scene can play a critical role in the investigation of a crime.

Impression evidence include tire tracks, toolmarks, footwear impressions, to

name a few. Collecting impression as a form of evidence requires skill and
patience, simply because unlike other types of trace evidence an impression
is very fragile and cannot simply be packed and transported to the forensic
lab. Thus, impression evidence collection must be done with utmost care.

In extracting an impression, the common method used is casting and molding

using a cast like plaster of paris in order to obtain exact replicas of toolmarks,
tracks, footwear impressions, etc. Casting and molding allows a forensic
investigator to gather an identical replica of a toolmark or print that can be
compared to a seized tool, footwear, or tire thereby establishing a link
between a crime scene a suspect.

II. Objective: To identify the principles of casting and molding used in a shoe
print/footwear and tire impressions.

III. Materials:

a. Plaster of Paris
b. Box/improvised container for soil
c. Pieces of barbecue sticks/wire as reinforcement
d. Plastic zipper bag or any available container for mixing
e. Metal strips

IV. Instructions:

1. Using a box filled with soil, create a distinct footwear impression. Employ
the cardboard as support to the footwear impression. Use the metal strips
to protect the sides of the footwear impression. Give at least 2 cm
allowance for each side in using the metal strip.
2. Place the plaster of paris in a zipper bag/container and dissolve it with a
suitable amount of water.
 3. Pour the mixture evenly onto the shoebox containing soil with the
footwear impression.
4. As it reaches about 1 cm thickness, use barbecue stick as reinforcement
to produce a stronger cast. Pour the remaining mixture.
5. Mix and smoothen the surface using the ladle. The cast should at least be
2 cm thick.
6. Allow the cast to dry.
7. As the cast is about to fully dry, make the necessary label – name/s of
person/s who made the cast, date/time/place.
8. Allow the cast to dry before removing it from the casting mold.
9. Once hard, remove and rinse the cast with water.
10. Take extra care in handling small details of the cast.
11. Wait until it dries completely.
12. Conclude by stating what you have learned from this experiment.

V. Observations:

VI. Conclusion: