Abstracts
Résumé
À la suite d’une comparaison entre des traces et des empreintes de semelles, une étape cruciale concerne l’évaluation du poids à accorder aux observations, et plus particulièrement la valeur à accorder aux caractéristiques acquises. Cette étape d’évaluation est souvent peu balisée et ne s’appuie que rarement, pour ce qui est des caractéristiques acquises, sur des données empiriques concrètes.
Cet article propose une discussion critique de la littérature afin de présenter les avancées dans le domaine et de donner une vue d’ensemble des publications actuelles qui traitent spécifiquement des caractéristiques acquises des semelles. Le recours systématique à l’argument de l’unicité de ces caractéristiques pour justifier une identification est également discuté afin de rediriger le débat vers des questions forensiques jugées plus pertinentes. De même, la terminologie utilisée pour qualifier les caractéristiques acquises est examinée pour identifier les raccourcis fallacieux qui viennent corrompre la logique du débat dans ce domaine. Finalement, le cadre général de l’interprétation des traces de semelles ainsi que les connaissances actuelles concernant les caractéristiques acquises plus spécifiquement seront couverts. Cette contribution couvre autant les études sur l’occurrence des caractéristiques acquises que les recherches relatives aux divers facteurs et dépendances qui influent sur les caractéristiques acquises.
Mots-clés :
- interprétation,
- unicité,
- terminologie,
- caractéristiques accidentelles,
- Traces de souliers
Abstract
A crucial step in any comparison of footwear marks with a potential source is to assign the weight or determine the importance and impact of the observations made, particularly with regard to acquired characteristics. However, this stage is still often poorly structured and relies rarely on empirical data.
The aim of this literature review and discussion is to present the advances in the field and give an overview of current publications dealing with acquired characteristics of outsoles. The concept of using the often-assumed uniqueness of these features as a basic tenet for identification is also discussed, in order to redirect the focus of the field towards more forensically relevant issues. Similarly, the terminology concerning acquired characteristics is addressed, in particular to highlight the sometimes erroneous or misleading concepts that can be attached to certain notions. Finally, the general framework for interpreting footwear marks, as well as current knowledge concerning acquired features more specifically, are reviewed. This includes studies on the occurrence of acquired characteristics, as well as research concerning various factors and their dependencies that have an influence on acquired characteristics.
Keywords:
- Shoeprints,
- interpretation,
- uniqueness,
- terminology,
- randomly acquired characteristics (RAC)
Appendices
Bibliographie
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