A Study of Correlations and Estimation of Stature from Foot Trace and Shoe Trace Dimensions

In crime investigations, Forensic experts may be left with only foot prints or shoe print or even shoes left at the scene to carry out their investigations. In the present study, an attempt was made to derive regression formula to determine stature using foot trace dimensions and shoe trace dimensions of randomly selected persons from a pull of 211 subjects age 16 - 45 years belonging to the Igbo ethnic group of Nigeria. The mean stature of the population was 167.55±9.10cm. Males were significantly taller than the females (p< 0.0001). In sexing the population, all the variables obtained for the right foot trace and the right shoe trace dimensions were statistically significant, p<0.0001. The highest positive correlation was observed in shoe length trace (SLT), r = 0.605 while the least was observe in forefoot width trace (FFWT) r = 0.253 in both sexes put together. The best simple linear regression model was developed using SLT in both sexes put together as well as in females. This has the highest value for the multiple correlation coefficients, R as 0. 605 with a 6.670 standard error of estimate (SEE) for both sexes put together. Regression equation was also generated using foot length trace (FLT/MFLT) in males but not in females. Conclusively SLT performed better than FLT/MFLT.