If you walk this way - exploring Forensic Podiatry

The work of a podiatrist involves the assessment, diagnosis and treatment of foot and ankle conditions.  Podiatrists may also treat back, hip and knee pain that is related to the way a person stands or walks.

A number of podiatrists working in clinical practice or university research apply their knowledge to criminal investigations. 

Gait analysis is one of five main practice areas of Forensic Podiatry (the other practice areas are footwear analysis and identification, bare footprint analysis and identification, footprint sequencing and identification of individuals from podiatric records). 

Offenders who conceal their faces from street CCTV cameras in the vicinity of the crime scene have discovered that they can be identified by the way that they walk.

John Rigg’s DNA was found at the scene of a domestic burglary and he was arrested on suspicion of having committed the offence.  However, the police needed corroborative evidence, as a good lawyer could argue away the DNA finding at court (contamination), or at least muddy the waters. 

Detectives began trawling through CCTV footage in the neighbourhood of the burgled house. They noticed a man with a distinctive bow-legged gait walking towards the house, but they couldn’t see his face.  They called in Ian Linane, a Forensic Podiatrist.

Mr Linane compared images of the bow-legged walker from the CCTV footage with images of John Rigg, taken whilst he was walking through the custody area of the police station, after his arrest.

Watch the video here and listen to Ian Linane describing his findings.

 http://news.bbc.co.uk/player/nol/newsid_7340000/newsid_7343600/7343683.stm?bw=bb&mp=wm&news=1&bbcws=1

Here is the CCTV footage only.

 

 

John Rigg pleaded guilty to two burglaries and received a two year jail sentence.

Forensic Podiatry is a developing and increasingly useful tool in forensic science.  It is practised most widely (but not extensively) in Canada, the USA and the UK.