Criminal footprint database ready to launch / Reuters, 29 Jan 2007
http://digbig.com/4rdep
Patricia Reaney
The government is launching a footwear intelligence database next month which will contain images of thousands of types of shoes, to track down criminals. It will be similar to the DNA database of genetic samples that Britain created in 1995 which now has millions of profiles.
"Footwear marks at the scene are the second-biggest evidence type behind blood and DNA," said the Forensic Science Service (FSS). The FSS, formerly part of the Home Office and now a government-owned company, will launch the Footwear Intelligence Tool (FIT) on February 15. It is thought to be the first of its kind in the world." [But see e.g. SoleMate - http://digbig.com/4rder ]