U.S. flag
      An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.
        Here's how you know
      Here's how you know**Official websites use .gov**
            
            A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
      **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
            
            A **lock** (
            A locked padlock
            ) or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Menu

      
        close

            
            
                                              About NIJ
        
                    
  
          About NIJ
      
    
          The NIJ Director
          How NIJ Is Organized
          Mission and Guiding Principles
          Research and Development Process
          Strategic Framework
          Assessments of NIJ
          Annual Reports & Reports to Congress
          Staff Directory
          Funding & Awards
        
                    
  
          Funding & Awards
      
    
          Current Funding
          Forthcoming Funding
          Expired Funding
          Awards: Listing of Funded Projects
          Guidance for Applicants and Awardees
          Fellowship & Student Programs
          Travel Scholarships
          NIJ Challenge Program
          Library & Multimedia
        
                    
  
          Library & Multimedia
      
    
          NIJ Journal
          Podcasts
          Publications Listing
          Multimedia Listing
          Rated Practices on CrimeSolutions
          Rated Programs on CrimeSolutions
          Software & Databases
          Datasets
          Patents
          Topics
        
                    
  
          Topics
      
    
          Article Listing
          Corrections
          Courts
          Crime Prevention
          Crimes
          Drugs and Crime
          Equipment and Technology
          Forensic Sciences
          Youth Justice
          Justice System Reform
          Law Enforcement
          Tribal Crime and Justice
          Victims of Crime
          Events
        
                    
  
          Events
      
    
          NIJ 2024 Research Conference
          Scheduled Events
          On-Demand Events
          Research Meetings & Workshops
          NIJ-Hosted Online Training

                            
                                About
          Contact Us
          Subscribe
          Topics A-Z
                  Share
FacebookXLinkedInRedditPinterestEmail Home
                            Events
 U.S. National Footwear Database System Feasibility Study Event Dates
              February 15, 2022, 1:00 pm
 – 2:00 pmEastern
Event Duration
              1 hour
Location
              Online

Register

Shoeprints at crime scenes, along with suspects’ footwear, are routinely collected and analyzed by qualified examiners in crime laboratories and forensic units to identify, include, or exclude suspects’ shoes as the source of these crime scene impressions. The results of these analyses are provided to investigators and prosecutors, who are considering how to proceed with charges or prosecution with the end goal of case adjudication. For the most part, in the U.S. today, shoeprints and suspects’ footwear are not being cataloged in databases to enable connecting the investigative dots using footwear.

The use of footwear for intelligence is limited to only a make and model of footwear that qualified examiners associated with the source of a crime scene impression. These results aid investigators by focusing their attention when they encounter suspects’ footwear at arrest or during a search warrant. These results cannot generate suspects like DNA and fingerprints, and they do not make it easy for investigators to detect links between scenes using footwear. Given these limitations, there is a gap in U.S. law enforcement’s capabilities to generate actionable footwear intelligence, which is the product of organizing, analyzing, and evaluating footwear data to assist law enforcement in decision making for the purpose of solving crime and preventing future crime.

To address this gap, the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) called on the FBI Laboratory to conduct research to assess whether a national footwear database (NFD) system could be developed and shared across the U.S. law enforcement community. NIJ believes that the development of an NFD could impact law enforcement operations directly by providing a new comprehensive tool to generate intelligence and indirectly through the creation of footwear datasets that researchers could use to develop quantitative methods for applying significance to footwear class characteristics, thus advancing the state of the forensic footwear discipline. NIJ funded the National Footwear Database Evaluation, and the FBI Laboratory executed the feasibility study over a three-year period (approximately from August 2017 to March 2020). Several conclusions and actionable recommendations were generated during that project that were recently reported.

**Detailed Learning Objectives**

Attendees will understand how the current state of footwear forensics in the U.S. prevents footwear evidence and information from realizing its intelligence potential.
	Attendees will understand how the implementation of a national footwear database system can transform the future of footwear intelligence in the U.S.
	Attendees will understand how the U.S. can act now by implementing practical steps developed through the National Footwear Database Evaluation that will improve the footwear intelligence capabilities of the U.S.
View Event Page
  
  
          Details
Event Type
              Webinar
    Event Option(s)
          Online,
                        On demand

Sponsor(s) / Host(s)

Forensic Technology Center of Excellence;National Institute of Justice (NIJ), U.S. Department of Justice
    Contact
          Forensic Technology Center of Excellence

  Link
              If you have questions about this course, contact the FTCoE

  Registration Dates
              January 19, 2022 - February 15, 2022

  Registration Status
              Open

  Eligibility
              Free and open to all.

  Credits
              Certificate of completion
    
  
Read more about
    
            Forensic laboratories
        DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid)
        Forensic sciences
        Search warrants
        Crime laboratories
        Database systems
        Law Enforcement Community
        Law enforcement
        Forensic intelligence
        Crime Scene
        Databases
        Law enforcement operations
        Evidence analysis
        Evidence analysis and processing
        Forensic Technology Center of Excellence
        Shoe prints and tire tracks
        Pattern evidence
  
Date Created: August 5, 2021
    
          Side navigation
  

        

  
  
              NIJ 2024 Research Conference
    
      
            
            
            
      Scheduled Events
    
      
            
            
            
      On-Demand Events
    
      
            
            
            
      Research Meetings & Workshops
    
      
            
            
            
      NIJ-Hosted Online TrainingSimilar Events
        
                      DEIA: What I learned from the AAFS Diversity Outreach Committee
                  FBI Laboratory Decision Analysis Studies in Pattern Evidence Examinations
                  Discovery, Disclosure and Ethical Considerations
 Top

      National Institute of Justice

        
        
                        About NIJ
                    About NIJ
      
    
                  How NIJ Is Organized
      
    
                  NIJ Director
      
    
                  Research Disclaimer
      
    
                  Funding & Awards
                    Funding & Awards Home
      
    
                  Awards Listing
      
    
                  Current Funding
      
    
                  Guidance for Applicants and Awardees
      
    
                  Resources
                    Events
      
    
                  Podcasts
      
    
                  Publications
      
    
                  Topics
      
    
                  Multimedia
      
    
                  Reuse Policy
      
    
                  Contacts
                    Contact NIJ
      
    
                  Staff Directory
      
    
                  Submit a FOIA Request
      
    
                  File a Civil Rights ComplaintFacebook
          
                      X
          
                      YouTube
  

      810 7th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20531
      
              Secondary Footer link menu
            Accessibility
              Plain Language
              Privacy Policy
              Legal Policies and Disclaimer
              No FEAR Act
              Freedom of Information Act
              USA.gov
              Justice.gov