Comparative analysis of static and dynamic bare footprint dimensions in a north Indian population

Abstract

Footprints recovered from the scene of a crime may be made while the perpetrator is standing, termed static, or walking, termed dynamic. Numerous studies on the medical and forensic aspects of static and dynamic footprints have been done and determining whether a footprint found at a crime scene is static or dynamic may have important forensic implications. Yet, little research has focused on the similarities or differences between static and dynamic footprints in the forensic context. The present study compared static and dynamic footprint two-dimensional variables to determine if statistically significant differences existed between them and if one can be estimated from the other. Footprints were taken from a sample of randomly selected 461 Jatt Sikh adults; major north Indian population. A total of 230 males and 231 females aged between 19 and 32 years were included in the study. Static and dynamic footprints were obtained from the participants using standard methodology. Seven linear footprint measurements and three footprint indices were calculated from each footprint. The dynamic footprint variables showed higher magnitudes than the static variables, and the differences were statistically significant for the length and width measurements. Furthermore, all measurements on the static and dynamic parameters exhibited statistically significant sexual dimorphism and bilateral differences. An attempt was made to estimate the static footprint dimensions from the dynamic footprint dimensions using the regression models to check the extent of differences between the two to help the investigators in estimating dimensions of one from another.