Semester
Spring
Date of Graduation
2006
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Type
MA
College
Eberly College of Arts and Sciences
Department
Geology and Geography
Committee Chair
Ge Lin
Abstract
The overall intent of this study is to illustrate how GIS and crime mapping methods can be applied to forensic evidence to better understand and comprehend spatial patterns that exist in these data. This study bridges common crime mapping principles such as hot spot mapping, exploratory data analysis, and spatial statistics to spatial forensic evidence investigation. In particular, forensic shoeprint evidence is examined and spatial relationships are analyzed using both exploratory and confirmatory statistical analysis. It is found that crime mapping principles can be indirectly related to shoeprint evidence mapping. Exploratory spatial data analysis is extremely helpful in breaking up large sets of shoeprint evidence into smaller and manageable sets for spatial forensic analysis. This work is one of few studies to incorporate shoeprint evident in a crime mapping context. With that in mind the author hopes that this study has shed some light on this subject to advance these methods in this field.
Recommended Citation
Walnoha, Michael Anthony Jr., "Shoeprint analysis: A GIS application in forensic evidence" (2006). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports. 4278.
https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/4278