Burglar convicted with help of gait analysis by podiatrist

NewsBot · Apr 11, 2008

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Way to go Ian !

The BBC are reporting:
Burglar jailed over unusual walk
The man on the footage had distinctive bow legs

A burglar walked into a two-year jail term after his distinctive swagger was matched by experts from CCTV footage.

John Gibson Rigg may have successfully hidden his face but he was caught on camera walking to the scene.

A podiatrist, who specialises in gait analysis, matched the man and the walk and together with DNA evidence he was charged with two burglaries.

The 35-year-old, from Rawcliffe Avenue, Bolton, pleaded guilty at Bolton Crown Court and was jailed for two years.

On 24 January 2007, Rigg broke into a house on Whittam Road, Whalley and stole property valued at £4,500 including a computer, ipods and TV, while the occupants slept upstairs.

He also burgled a house on Chorley New Road, Bolton in April 1998, stealing a safe and £7,500 in cash while the owners were on holiday.

Rigg was arrested after DNA evidence was found at the scene. But when detectives noticed a man with a distinctive walk on CCTV around the time of the crime they brought in expert podiatrist Ian Linane.

The man on the footage had noticeable bowed legs and an unusual way of moving his left arm.

He was filmed in custody and the specialist found matches.

Mr Linane said: "This type of approach can be valuable in a number of ways in that it is not always hindered by types of clothing worn or even disguises.

"It has been used to eliminate as well as implicate individuals.

"There have been several cases of suspects admitting their guilt based on the visual evidence presented to them and as such it can save considerably on court costs."

Det Con Mark Cruise said: "I hope this sends out a strong message that even criminals who conceal their faces can still be identified due to this relatively new type of forensic analysis."
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Link to story

NewsBot · Apr 11, 2008

Re: Burglar convicted with help of gait analysis

An you can also watch the video featuring Ian!

Cameron · Apr 11, 2008

netizens

:morning:
There have been several case convictions on the precise evidence of forensic podiatry analysis so it is good to see this article. Possibly the most infamous case was the one involving Hollywood star, O J Simpson and the bloody footprint from his loafers. Greg Coyle in NZ was called as expert witness in a nasty murder trial a few years ago involving a gang killing and was able to present convincing evidence from foot prints in the sand which pointed to the likely culprits. In the UK Vernon Lever and Bill Kerr are two forensic podiatry luminaries in the courtroom whose expertise is regularly called upon.

There was a case in Australia not too long ago when the violent bank robber on the way to the scenes of the crime stood on a dog's dodo. Usually this might be considered lucky but alas for him the foul smelling addition to his shoes alerted the olofactory senses of all and conveniently left a tell tale gait pattern with for the law enforcement officers to follow. He was apprehended soon after. No ****! ;)

crimefighter toeslayer

Ian Linane · Apr 12, 2008

Hi

Thanks Newsbot. Think its clear that my days of Brad Pitt impersonation are over now. :pigs:

As with all news interviews there is a limit to what is presented by the TV on the day. There was considerably more than the knee bowing involved and more than what was indicated in the interview. In terms of CCTV analysis in the UK, Haydn Kelly also provides this service.

Couple of other Pods in the UK who are involved in the Pod side of Forensics include Dr Wesley Vernon and a colleague Harry (sorry cannot recall his last name). Their work strikes me as interesting as they are collecting data on shoe fit to foot. This technique is very simple in terms of data collection and I have wondered if the Arena folks could help by providing world wide data.

Cheers
Ian

Cameron · Apr 12, 2008

Humble apologies, I meant Wesley Vernon. Age is a terrible thing.

aged toeslayer :empathy:

Robertisaacs · Apr 14, 2008

Should this kind of info be released?

It means that when Kevin is fleeing the seminar with Ed having planted 200lbs of semtex under the stage he'll know he can rule himself out of the enquiry by wearing a pair of propriceptive insoles on the way from the scene...

Nice one ian :drinks

Regards
Robert

Dave Cluderay · Apr 15, 2008

Hi,
At 00.15 on Tuesday 15th April I set the sleep timer on my radio alarm to radio five live ( sad or what?)
I was drifting off, having just scored the winning goal in the European Cup final I was just about to take the trophy from "Twirly",s finely manicured hands when I was jolted back to reality by the presenters telling the story of a man who walked like "John Wayne" being convicted on CCTV evidence with the help of a gait analysis expert witness Podiatrist Ian Linane and DNA results.
They started sniggering and invited the listeners to ring in with amusing job titles.
Perhaps Ian should apply for an Equity Card.
What's amusing about "Gait Analyst"
Dave Cluderay

twirly · Apr 15, 2008

Ooh,

Dave Cluderay said: ↑

I was drifting off, having just scored the winning goal in the European Cup final I was just about to take the trophy from "Twirly",s finely manicured hands
Dave Cluderay
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Am I giving out cups now?

Note to self: need new frock for prize giving extravaganza.

PS. (Well done Ian ) Xs ;)

Cameron · Apr 16, 2008

netizens

Alphonse Bertillon was a 19th century French law enforcement officer and biometrics researcher who created anthropometry, an identification system based on physical measurements. He died a lunatic.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alphonse_Bertillon

toeslayer

bob · Apr 16, 2008

Ian Linane said: ↑

Hi

Thanks Newsbot. Think its clear that my days of Brad Pitt impersonation are over now. :pigs:

As with all news interviews there is a limit to what is presented by the TV on the day. There was considerably more than the knee bowing involved and more than what was indicated in the interview. In terms of CCTV analysis in the UK, Haydn Kelly also provides this service.

Couple of other Pods in the UK who are involved in the Pod side of Forensics include Dr Wesley Vernon and a colleague Harry (sorry cannot recall his last name). Their work strikes me as interesting as they are collecting data on shoe fit to foot. This technique is very simple in terms of data collection and I have wondered if the Arena folks could help by providing world wide data.

Cheers
Ian
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Have you thought of changing your name Ian? In 3 months time when this chap has been released from his 'six month' holiday paid for by our taxes, I'm sure he won't be too happy with you. Beware the biomech exam appointments with bow-legged patients in future!

Ian Linane · Apr 16, 2008

Hi Bob

Thanks for the concern. I have done my best to deflect attention away from me to the way podiatry is already involved in Forensic activity e.g. shoe to foot fit, use of patient records etc.

Name wise he already had the details the minute the report was provided to the defence solicitors so anonimity is not possible anyway.

Kevlar tunics from now on.

Cheers
Ian

NewsBot · Jul 19, 2008

Gait Analysis in Forensic Medicine.
Larsen PK, Simonsen EB, Lynnerup N.
Laboratory of Biological Anthropology, Section of Forensic Pathology, Department of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Blegdamsvej 3, DK-2200 Copenhagen, Denmark.
J Forensic Sci. 2008 Jul 3. [Epub ahead of print]

Recordings from video surveillance systems are used as evidence from crime scenes. It would be useful to perform comparisons between disguised perpetrators and suspects based on their gait. We applied functional anatomical and biomechanical knowledge to analyze the gait of perpetrators, as recorded on surveillance video. Using a structured checklist, which addresses the single body segments during gait, we were able to give a statement concerning the gait patterns. Characteristic parameters were, e.g., varus instability in the knee at heel strike, and larger lateral flexion of the spinal column to one side than the other. Based on these characteristic features, we are able to state with reasonable certainty whether the suspect could be the perpetrator, but it is not possible to identify the perpetrator positively. Nevertheless, we have been involved in several cases where the court has found that this type of gait analysis was a valuable tool.
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admin · Nov 18, 2008

The Times Colonist are reporting:
Forensic gait analysis points to accused
Similarities in Charlie-Chaplin walk seen in murderer and man on trial
Published: Tuesday, November 18, 2008

A podiatrist from the United Kingdom told a B.C. Supreme Court jury there are similarities between the person captured on video shooting Adan Merino outside the Chelsea Apartments on Dec. 28, 2004 and known videos of Daniel Aitken.

Haydn Kelly took to the witness stand for the second day, running shoes in hand, and told the jury there was a very strong likeness between "the very abducted feet of the shooter in the Merino video and the person made known to me by the RCMP as Daniel Aitken." Abduction refers to how the foot moves away from the body.

Kelly, an expert in forensic gait analysis - a person's manner of walking - and biomechanics, also testified there was a very strong likeness of the left foot on the person in the Merino shooting video and Aitken.

In earlier testimony, the jury learned Victoria police believed Merino's shooter has an unusual, Charlie Chaplin-like walk. They also learned Victoria police Det. Jason Laidman went to London in October 2006 with a large amount of video footage for Kelly to review.

Kelly explained that abduction means the foot moves away from the middle of the body. Eversion, visible in the shooter's left foot as seen on the video, is an inward collapsing of the feet that could be called flat-footedness.

"Based on your training in gait analysis and your review of the known images and the Chelsea building shooting video, is there anything you observed to suggest that Daniel Aitken could not have been that person?" asked Crown counsel Peter Juk.

"There was not," Kelly replied.

The jury watched a three-minute video of Aitken pacing up and down in police cells on the day of his arrest. His hands are in his pocket, his feet are bare.

"Both feet are very abducted and the left foot is more everted than the right," Kelly commented.

Although the majority of the population abduct or evert their feet, Kelly said there's a strong likeness between a person of interest caught on security cameras at the Chelsea 18 hours before the shooting, the shooter and Aitken.

"There are three aspects - the magnitude of abduction of the left foot, the magnitude of abduction of the right foot and the magnitude of the everted position of the left foot," Kelly replied.

"It's the size. It's just so large. It's such an uncommon finding."

In admissions of fact, read into the court record last week, Aitken is identified as the person of interest outside the Chelsea in the early morning hours of Dec. 28, 2004.

Kelly testified he was not aware the person of interest was Aitken when he reviewed the footage and wrote his report.
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admin · Dec 23, 2008

Admin said: ↑

The Times Colonist are reporting:
Forensic gait analysis points to accused
Similarities in Charlie-Chaplin walk seen in murderer and man on trial
Published: Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Click to expand...

These is a bit of controversy now surrounding this one:

Canada.com are reporting:
British expert cashes in on murder trial
Victoria investigators enlisted forensic gait analyst who was paid $70,000

Investigators spent about $70,000 on a British podiatrist who testified in November at Daniel Aitken's first-degree murder trial for the shooting death of Adan Merino.
Last week, Victoria police Const. Jason Laidman testified that he sent a cheque on Dec. 12, 2006 for 17,325 pounds to forensic gait analyst Haydn Kelly.
That money was used to prepare a report for Victoria police.
In November, under cross-examination by defence lawyer Peter Firestone, Kelly testified he sent a second invoice in the amount of 12,095.50 pounds for his expenses.
Kelly also told the court he charged 1,700 pounds a day to testify at trials.
Kelly was on the stand for three days. In court, Firestone suggested this money was not well spent on someone Victoria police found in the yellow pages.
Laidman disagreed, stating that when he was asked by his supervisors in August 2006, to find an expert in forensic gait analysis, he began researching the subject on www.podiatry.co.uk and found information on Kelly, who was speaking at a symposium.
Laidman told the court he sent Kelly an e-mail to possibly request his assistance. On Sept. 15, 2006, he talked to Kelly on the phone and asked if police could retain his services. During that conversation, Kelly estimated his services would cost between 3,000 and 5,000 pounds.
"It was quite a bit more expensive," Laidman told the court.
On Oct. 9, 2006, Kelly signed a contract with the investigators, outlining his terms and conditions which included payment in advance if he requested. Ten days later, Laidman flew to London to meet Kelly. He brought videos of the shooting and known images of Aitken....
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Rest of story

NewsBot · Oct 20, 2012

Gait analysis and identification
18th International Conference on Automation and Computing (ICAC), 2012

An efficient framework were proposed for identifying individuals from gait via feature-based method based on 3D motion capture data. Three different extraction methods were applied to achieve gait signatures. The average identification rate was over 93% with best result close to 100% in a 35 subject database. In additional, gait attractiveness was analyzed via Principle component analysis and linear regression method. A systematic relationship was found between the motions of individual markers and the attractiveness ratings. In a linear equation, ln(PCA1) and ln(PCA2) predicted ln(attract_value) with reasonable accuracy.
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NewsBot · Aug 27, 2013

The development of a tool for assessing the quality of closed circuit camera footage for use in forensic gait analysis
Ivan Birch, Wesley Vernon, Jeremy Walker, Jai Saxelby
Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine; Volume 20, Issue 7, October 2013, Pages 915–917

Gait analysis from closed circuit camera footage is now commonly used as evidence in criminal trials. The biomechanical analysis of human gait is a well established science in both clinical and laboratory settings. However, closed circuit camera footage is rarely of the quality of that taken in the more controlled clinical and laboratory environments. The less than ideal quality of much of this footage for use in gait analysis is associated with a range of issues, the combination of which can often render the footage unsuitable for use in gait analysis. The aim of this piece of work was to develop a tool for assessing the suitability of closed circuit camera footage for the purpose of forensic gait analysis.

A Delphi technique was employed with a small sample of expert forensic gait analysis practitioners, to identify key quality elements of CCTV footage used in legal proceedings. Five elements of the footage were identified and then subdivided into 15 contributing sub-elements, each of which was scored using a 5-point Likert scale. A Microsoft Excel worksheet was developed to calculate automatically an overall score from the fifteen sub-element scores. Five expert witnesses experienced in using CCTV footage for gait analysis then trialled the prototype tool on current case footage. A repeatability study was also undertaken using standardized CCTV footage. The results showed the tool to be a simple and repeatable means of assessing the suitability of closed circuit camera footage for use in forensic gait analysis.

The inappropriate use of poor quality footage could lead to challenges to the practice of forensic gait analysis. All parties involved in criminal proceedings must therefore understand the fitness for purpose of any footage used. The development of this tool could offer a method of achieving this goal, and help to assure the continued role of forensic gait analysis as an aid to the identification process.
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NewsBot · Sep 9, 2013

Different case:

Hall's defense attorney, Michael DeMatt, has said that Hall stumbled upon the bodies and did not kill the pair. A forensic podiatrist could testify for the defense about footprint evidence found at the crime scene.
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From: Brothers to testify in Ligonier man's murder trial

NewsBot · Nov 22, 2017

Judges issued handbooks on the science of how people walk

NewsBot · Feb 28, 2018

Gait Closed: How a suspect’s walk cracked a cold case robbery

NewsBot · Mar 14, 2018

A review of the historical use and criticisms of gait analysis evidence
Michael Nirenberg, Wesley Vernon, Ivan Birch
Science & Justice; 7 March 2018

Highlights
•Gait analysis dates back to Aristotle (384–322 BCE).
•Gait has been presented in court as evidence since at least 1839.
•Potential for confusion within the courts
•More research publications are required.
•Greater consideration of expert's approach and experience is required.
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The use of gait analysis is a well-established facet of practice for many professions and a fundamental aspect of clinical practice. In recent times, gait analysis evidence has emerged as a new area of forensic practice. As its use has continued to spread and develop, the area of work has come under close scrutiny and subsequent criticism. The purpose of this paper is to examine the historical use of gait analysis evidence and consider the criticisms of this work. Through the use of the historical records of cases within the public domain it has been determined that gait analysis as evidence was first presented in court over 175 years ago, although it has only been utilized by experts in more recent times. The quality of analysis underpinning such evidence has been variable, and has been undertaken by both non-expert and expert witnesses. The work undertaken by expert witnesses appears to have been both non-scientific and scientific in nature, though there is limited reporting of cases involving scientific approaches. Given the variation in the quality of the methodologies utilized, there is the potential for confusion within the courts, where it may be difficult for the judge or jury to determine the appropriate weight that can be attributed to the evidence. It is concluded that future publications should explore the scientific basis of forensic gait analysis to evaluate standards, reliability and validity, as well as reporting the methodologies utilized in relevant cases in the field. It is also recommended that courts consider in greater depth an expert's theoretical approach and experience prior to admitting their evidence. The publication of ‘Forensic gait analysis: a primer for courts’, although limited in some aspects of its consideration of practice, is a welcome addition to the information available for guidance.
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NewsBot · Jun 15, 2018

A review of the historical use and criticisms of gait analysis evidence.
Nirenberg M, Vernon W, Birch I.
Sci Justice. 2018 Jul;58(4):292-298.

The use of gait analysis is a well-established facet of practice for many professions and a fundamental aspect of clinical practice. In recent times, gait analysis evidence has emerged as a new area of forensic practice. As its use has continued to spread and develop, the area of work has come under close scrutiny and subsequent criticism. The purpose of this paper is to examine the historical use of gait analysis evidence and consider the criticisms of this work. Through the use of the historical records of cases within the public domain it has been determined that gait analysis as evidence was first presented in court over 175 years ago, although it has only been utilized by experts in more recent times. The quality of analysis underpinning such evidence has been variable, and has been undertaken by both non-expert and expert witnesses. The work undertaken by expert witnesses appears to have been both non-scientific and scientific in nature, though there is limited reporting of cases involving scientific approaches. Given the variation in the quality of the methodologies utilized, there is the potential for confusion within the courts, where it may be difficult for the judge or jury to determine the appropriate weight that can be attributed to the evidence. It is concluded that future publications should explore the scientific basis of forensic gait analysis to evaluate standards, reliability and validity, as well as reporting the methodologies utilized in relevant cases in the field. It is also recommended that courts consider in greater depth an expert's theoretical approach and experience prior to admitting their evidence. The publication of 'Forensic gait analysis: a primer for courts', although limited in some aspects of its consideration of practice, is a welcome addition to the information available for guidance.
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NewsBot · Oct 15, 2018

Critical review of the use and scientific basis of forensic gait analysis
Nina M. van Mastrigt, Kevin Celie, Arjan L. Mieremet, Arnout C. C. Ruifrok & Zeno Geradt
Forensic Sciences Research : 09 Oct 2018

This review summarizes the scientific basis of forensic gait analysis and evaluates its use in the Netherlands, United Kingdom and Denmark, following recent critique on the admission of gait evidence in Canada. A useful forensic feature is (1) measurable, (2) consistent within and (3) different between individuals. Reviewing the academic literature, this article found that (1) forensic gait features can be quantified or observed from surveillance video, but research into accuracy, validity and reliability of these methods is needed; (2) gait is variable within individuals under differing and constant circumstances, with speed having major influence; (3) the discriminative strength of gait features needs more research, although clearly variation exists between individuals. Nevertheless, forensic gait analysis has contributed to several criminal trials in Europe in the past 15 years. The admission of gait evidence differs between courts. The methods are mainly observer-based: multiple gait analysts (independently) assess gait features on video footage of a perpetrator and suspect. Using gait feature databases, likelihood ratios of the hypotheses that the observed individuals have the same or another identity can be calculated. Automated gait recognition algorithms calculate a difference measure between video clips, which is compared with a threshold value derived from a video gait recognition database to indicate likelihood. However, only partly automated algorithms have been used in practice. We argue that the scientific basis of forensic gait analysis is limited. However, gait feature databases enable its use in court for supportive evidence with relatively low evidential value. The recommendations made in this review are (1) to expand knowledge on inter- and intra-subject gait variabilities, discriminative strength and interdependency of gait features, method accuracies, gait feature databases and likelihood ratio estimations; (2) to compare automated and observer-based gait recognition methods; to design (3) an international standard method with known validity, reliability and proficiency tests for analysts; (4) an international standard gait feature data collection method resulting in database(s); (5) (inter)national guidelines for the admission of gait evidence in court; and (6) to decrease the risk for cognitive and contextual bias in forensic gait analysis. This is expected to improve admission of gait evidence in court and judgment of its evidential value. Several ongoing research projects focus on parts of these recommendations.
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NewsBot · Feb 23, 2019

Forensic Gait Analysis and Recognition: Standards of Evidence Admissibility.
Macoveciuc I, Rando CJ, Borrion H
J Forensic Sci. 2019 Feb 21

Gait is one biological characteristic which has attracted strong research interest due to its potential use in human identification. Although almost two decades have passed since a forensic gait expert has testified to the identity of a perpetrator in court, the methods remain insufficiently robust, considering the recent paradigm shift witnessed in the forensic science community regarding quality of evidence. In contrast, technological advancements have taken the lead, and research into automated gait recognition has greatly surpassed forensic gait analysis in terms of the size of acquired datasets and demographic variability of participants, tested variables, and statistical evaluation of results. Despite these advantages, gait recognition presents with different problems which are yet to be resolved. Therefore, courts should treat gait evidence with caution, as they should any other form of evidence originating from disciplines without fully established codes of practice, error rates, and demonstrable applications in forensic scenarios.
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NewsBot · Nov 9, 2022

A preliminary study investigating the overlay method in forensic podiatry for comparison of insole footprints
Nicolas Howsam et al
Sci Justice. 2022 Sep;62(5):494-505

The overlay method is used in forensic podiatry to compare the shape, position, and overall fit of features between questioned and reference footprint evidence. However, the scientific foundation underpinning its validity in the comparison of insole footprints is not fully understood because of a lack of published data defining its statistical operating parameters. A review of literature revealed its subjective nature with little scientific validation, limited only to face validity. The aim of this study investigated strength of agreement between three expert footprint examiners' overlay comparisons of ten reference insole footprints using Cohen's weighted kappa (Kw). Validity of method was explored using measures of sensitivity, specificity, false positive rate (FPR), false negative rate (FNR), receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and area under the ROC curve (AUC). Results showed two examiners demonstrated high inter-rater consistency between their overlay comparisons (Kw: 0.981; 95 %CI: 0.943 to 1.020 for Rater1 v Rater2) whilst one examiner did not (Kw: 0.340; 95 %CI: 0.148 to 0.532 for Rater1 v Rater3; Kw: 0.310; 95 %CI: 0.100 to 0.519 for Rater2 v Rater3). Validity was investigated using a conclusion scale in a verbal expressions table to indicate support or rejection of compatibility of footprints between one questioned insole and ten reference insoles. Data analysis indicated validity as follows: Sensitivity: 77.8 %, Specificity: 61.9 %, FPR: 38.1 % and FNR: 22.2 %. ROC analysis corroborated this finding. AUC was calculated at 0.762 or 76.2 % indicating an 'acceptable' measure of overall accuracy of the overlay method for insole footprint comparison. Findings provide novel data supporting previous suggestions that the overlay method should not be used in isolation to compare insole footprints. Data also offers insight into the scientific foundation of this method, whilst highlighting its limitations and providing some implications and recommendations for forensic podiatry practice.
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