TOOL IMPRESSION

or TOOLMARKS

What are TOOLMARKS?

Are impressions or marks produced by a

tool or instrument on a receptive surface.
When a tool makes contact with the
surface with sufficient impact to create
indentation, the pattern of the tool is
permanently reproduced onto the
surface.

Characteristics of
toolmarks

Toolmarks have two characteristics,

namely:

CLASS CHARACTERISTICS - includes its general shape,

the type of impressions, and its general dimensions.
Class charac. Allow the examiner to identify what type
of tool created the impression and how the mark is
created.

INDIVIDUAL CHARATERISTICS - or accidental

characteristics are the striations exhibited by the tool,
which are unique to a certain tool. They consist of
small, commonly microscopic, ridges, indentation, and
irregularities present on the toll itself.

Class characteristics

Individual characteristics

Types of toolmarks

There are two main type of tool

marks,namely:

SLIPPED IMPRESSIONS occurs as the tool

is dragged across the surface, resulting in
tool marks comprising a series of
striations running parallel to each other.
MOLDED IMPRESSIONS results from the
contact of a tool onto a surface with a no
lateral motion(no drag nor slip).

Slipped impressions

Molded impressions

Evidence submitted in toolmark

cases may include tools, such as:

- bolt cutters
- scissors
-saw, knives
- screwdrivers, chisels
Crowbars tire irons
- pliers, wrenches

Places and surfaces where toolmarks

might be observe in criminal
investifations:

- human bone and cartilage

- doors and window frames
- section of sheet metal
- padlocks, doorknobs
- wire, chains
- bolts and locks
Safety deposit boxes and safes

FOOT IMPRESSION
or SHOE PRINT

KINDS OF SHOE PRINT:

PATENT SHOEPRINTS are clearly visible and come

from tracking through a substance such as pain or dirt,
leaving some of these behind each time a step is taken.
For example, bloody shoe prints left on flooring or tracks
left by muddy tires on a driveway.

PLASTIC SHOEPRINT occurs when a shoe sinks into a

soft substance such as mud.

LATENT SHOEPRINT are not visible to the naked eye

and often occur on a hard surface such as glass or
concrete. Examiners or investigators use powders,
chemicals or alternate light sources to find these prints.
Examples include shoeprints detected on a tile or
hardwood floor, window sill, or metal counter, or tire tracks
detected on road surfaces, driveways or sidewalks.

PATENT SHOEPRINT

PLASTIC SHOEPRINT

LATENT SHOEPRINT

What are CASTS and

MOLDS?

CASTS a reproduction of an object that

made the impression(a positive replica)
MOLDS a reproduction of the impression
made by the object( a negative replica)
POSITIVE REPLICA the obtained cast
from an impression made in soil, dust,
blood, etc.
NEGATIVE REPLICA - the impression
itself, indented into the soil, dust,
blood ,etc.

MOULAGE and
POSMOULAGE

MOULAGE - is a water based gel which can be

reused several times. It flows freely at warm
temperature (110 120 degrees F.) but begins to
harden at about 100 degrees F. and because of its
warm temperature, .moulage may be used to
make a molds of body of a living individual.
POSMOULAGE is a wax based material which is
used to make a positive replica of the original
object from a moulage mold. Posmoulage may be
heated directly. It will flow freely at 130 140
degrees F. It has been used with success for
bitemarks cast on human skin, toolmarks,
footprints, and tire print castm etc.

WAYS IN COLLECTING
FOOTPRINTS:

ADHESIVE LIFTER- a heavy coating of adhesive lifts the

imprint from smooth, non-delicate surfaces such as tile or
hardwood floors, metal counters, etc. It is usually used in
conjunction with fingerprint powders.
GELATIN LIFTER- a sheet of rubber with a low-adhesive
gelatin layer on one side that can lift prints from almost any
surface, including porous, rough, curved and textured
surfaces. It is less tacky and more flexible than an adhesive
lifter, allowing it to pick up a dusty shoeprint on a cardboard
box, for example, but not tear the surface of the box.
ELECTROSTATIC DUST-PRINT LIFTING DEVICE- a tool
that electrostatically charges particles within dust or light
soil, which are then attracted and bonded to a lifting film.
This method is best for collecting dry or dusty residue
impressions on almost any surface

ELECTROSTATIC DUST-PRINT
LIFTING