FINAL by: OSAC Program Office; Version 2, January 13, 2020 1

OSAC RESEARCH NEEDS ASSESSMENT FORM

Title of research need: Prevalence/yield of footwear impressions from crime scenes

Describe

the need:

Footwear impressions are massively underutilized in the United States. Crime scenes are 

generally not preserved with the collection of footwear impressions in mind, and 

impressions are either not collected and/or poorly recovered. The first step in addressing 

this issue is to determine how often a usable footwear impression could be collected at 

various scenes. This would be especially useful if broken down by crime type (property 

crime vs. major crime). Once baseline data is collected and prevalence/yield is 

characterized, agencies can articulate needs and formulate plans to ensure that this type of 

evidence is sought, preserved and appropriately collected.

Keyword(s): Footwear impressions, prevalence, yield, crime scenes

Submitting subcommittee(s): Footwear and Tire Tread Date Approved: 10/24/2022

Background Information:

1. Does this research need address a gap(s) in a current or planned standard? (ex.: Field identification system 

for on scene opioid detection and confirmation)

This research supports best practice documents for scene preservation, recovery, collection and footwear 

intelligence.

2. Are you aware of any ongoing research that may address this research need that has not yet been published 

(e.g., research presented in conference proceedings, studies that you or a colleague have participated in but 

have yet to be published)?

Some research of this type may have been collected but not published in Europe; the FW/TT subcommittee is 

not aware of any comparable data from the United States.

3. Key bibliographic references relating to this research need: (ex.: Toll, L., Standifer, K. M., Massotte, D., eds. 

(2019). Current Topics in Opioid Research. Lausanne: Frontiers Media SA. doi: 10.3389/978-2-88963-180-3)

N/A.

4. Review the annual operational/research needs published by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) at 

https://nij.ojp.gov/topics/articles/forensic-science-research-and-development-technology-working-groupoperational#latest? Is your research need identified by NIJ?

No.
FINAL by: OSAC Program Office; Version 2, January 13, 2020 2

5. In what ways would the research results improve current laboratory capabilities?

This research is a necessary first step in demonstrating the prevalence and subsequent importance of collecting 

this evidence type. Having this information will ultimately increase awareness, collection rates and evidence 

quality. 

6. In what ways would the research results improve understanding of the scientific basis for the 

subcommittee(s)?

Research results would inform the scientific community as to the prevalence of footwear impressions.

7. In what ways would the research results improve services to the criminal justice system?

This research is a necessary first step in demonstrating the prevalence and subsequent importance of collecting 

this evidence type. Having this information will ultimately increase awareness, collection rates and evidence 

quality. 

8. Status assessment (I, II, III, or IV):

I Major gap in 

current 

knowledge

Minor gap in 

current 

knowledge

No or limited

current research is 

being conducted I III

Existing current 

research is being 

conducted II IV

This research need has been identified by one or more subcommittees of OSAC and is being provided as an 

informational resource to the community.