Police footprint technology leads to offender’s imprisonment

Specialist technology allowed police to identify the offender’s shoes and helped to secure a conviction.

A man whose shoe print was found at the scene of a serious sexual assault has been jailed for ten years. The 30-year-old was sentenced at Swansea Crown Court in Wales after pleading guilty to the attack, which happened on January 9th 2017. He had climbed through a house window and attacked his female victim at knifepoint. Investigating police officers found the shoe print and were able to identify the offender’s specific type of footwear using specialist technology, a national database of some 38,000 prints and the experience of the force’s footwear specialist.

Once the shoe was identified as a particular type of trainer (sneaker), the information was passed to officers undertaking house-to-house enquiries, resulting in the man’s early detection and arrest. Evidence was given in court to prove that he was responsible for the crime, which led him to admit to two counts of sexual assault.

The evidence obtained by the police and support of the victim meant that the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) could advise on charges at an early stage of the proceedings. It also meant that Dyfed-Powys Police could build a strong case, which resulted in the court receiving a guilty plea.

Publishing Data

This article was originally published on page 2 of the May 2017 issue of SATRA Bulletin.

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