dc.contributor.advisor |
Morgan-Smith, R |
en |
dc.contributor.advisor |
Elliot, D |
en |
dc.contributor.author |
Benedict, Indrika |
en |
dc.date.accessioned |
2013-02-28T22:45:39Z |
en |
dc.date.issued |
2013 |
en |
dc.identifier.uri |
http://hdl.handle.net/2292/20091 |
en |
dc.description |
Full text is available to authenticated members of The University of Auckland only. |
en |
dc.description.abstract |
This research was undertaken to verify the evidential value of class characteristics in footwear impression evidence and determine the effect of local and temporal variation in footwear styles. Three separate geographical locations in New Zealand were surveyed by collecting 500 shoeprints from university populations in each location. Shoeprints sharing a similar generic pattern were sorted into pattern groups Medium sized pattern groups (containing four to five prints) showed the most significant differences in distribution between three different locations. Significant differences in the distribution of pattern groups in Auckland from 2010 and 2012 were determined. These findings argue the relevance of using local footwear databases for determining the frequency of a shoe style in the population. To determine the number of shoes that could be distinguished using class characteristics, comprehensive examination of shoeprints within each location was carried out. Shoeprints that had indistinguishable class characteristics formed class characteristic subgroups. The largest pattern group in Auckland contained 77 shoes, of which only two could not be distinguished on class features. In Wellington the largest pattern group had 88 shoes; of which only two subgroups of two prints could not be distinguished on class characteristics. From Dunedin 94 shoes made up the largest pattern group and all prints could be distinguished. The second largest pattern group in Auckland contained 33 prints which had three prints that could not be distinguished. Wellington had 22 prints in its second largest pattern group and three of these prints could not be distinguished. An unidentifiable pattern group containing two shoes could not be distinguished also. The second largest group in Dunedin contained 18 prints and all could be distinguished. Out of 500 shoes collected in Auckland, five could not be distinguished indicating that 495 (99 %) prints were distinguishable. In Wellington, 503 prints were collected and eight could not be distinguished resulting in 495 (98.4 %) prints that were distinguishable. Finally, all 517 prints collected in Dunedin were distinguishable. A class characteristic subgroup of three indicates that the highest frequency of a sole pattern based on class correspondence was only 0.6% in the sampled population. A shoeprint that is distinguishable from all other shoeprints in the sample based on class characteristics has a frequency of 0.2% in the sampled population. These findings support prior research that in the general population of footwear, the probability of a class match is very small. Moreover, significant differences in the number of subgroups were observed between 2010 and 2012 surveys. By accounting for sampling uncertainties the data was applied to the general population with a 99% certainty level that the true frequency in the population would be less than 0.017 for the most common shoe and a large proportion of shoes have a true frequency of 0.010. These figures were converted into a likelihood ratio ranging from 59 to 100, which is moderately strong evidence. It was found the distribution of shoe styles within a location supported previous studies - while some sole patterns shared the same generic pattern, the majority of prints could be distinguished based on class characteristics. Therefore the evidential value of obtaining class characteristic correspondence remains moderately high and should not be overlooked. However the study implies that location and time can affect the distribution and frequency of footwear significantly therefore the use of the survey is limited. |
en |
dc.publisher |
ResearchSpace@Auckland |
en |
dc.relation.ispartof |
Masters Thesis - University of Auckland |
en |
dc.rights |
Items in ResearchSpace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated. Previously published items are made available in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher. |
en |
dc.rights |
Restricted Item. Available to authenticated members of The University of Auckland. |
en |
dc.rights.uri |
https://researchspace.auckland.ac.nz/docs/uoa-docs/rights.htm |
en |
dc.rights.uri |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/nz/ |
en |
dc.title |
Geographical and time variation of shoeprint comparison class correspondences |
en |
dc.type |
Thesis |
en |
thesis.degree.grantor |
The University of Auckland |
en |
thesis.degree.level |
Masters |
en |
dc.rights.holder |
Copyright: The Author |
en |
pubs.elements-id |
373764 |
en |
pubs.org-id |
Science |
en |
pubs.org-id |
Statistics |
en |
pubs.record-created-at-source-date |
2013-03-01 |
en |
dc.identifier.wikidata |
Q112899480 |
|