Treadmate
Definition
RCMP database of outsole designs for footwear comparison, used by Canadian forensic laboratories and accessible to partner agencies.
- Maintained by
- Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP)
- Database contents
- Footwear outsole designs and tyre tread patterns
- Primary use
- Matching impression evidence to source make/model
Common questions
What is Treadmate?+
Treadmate is an RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) database that holds two collections: outsole designs from footwear for shoe print comparison, and tyre tread patterns for matching impressions to specific tyre makes and models. Canadian forensic laboratories and partner agencies use it to link physical evidence to source.
How does Treadmate help with tyre impression evidence?+
When investigators recover a tyre impression at a crime scene, they can compare its class characteristics (the distinctive tread pattern) against Treadmate's collection to narrow down the exact make and model of tyre. This links the evidence to a potential vehicle.
Can footwear examiners use Treadmate for shoe prints?+
Yes. Treadmate contains a database of outsole designs that forensic labs use to compare impressions left by shoes at a scene. Matching the outsole pattern helps identify the shoe brand and model.
Related terms
- SWGTREAD
- Scientific Working Group for Shoeprint and Tire Tread Evidence; US body that developed the dominant guidelines for footwear and tyre-mark examination, class-subclass-individual...
- ASTM E2927
- Standard test method for the determination of trace elements in glass samples using LA-ICP-MS; specifies the element suite, calibration standards (NIST SRM...
- BNS 2023 § 106
- Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023 provision criminalising causing death by negligence; the primary charging provision for fatal hit-and-run cases in India, with enhanced...
- Class Characteristics (Footwear)
- The manufactured outsole design features shared by all examples of a specific shoe model: tread pattern, size, shape, and logo placement.
- Cold Filament Failure
- Fracture of a tungsten bulb filament below operational temperature; characterised by a clean, brittle transverse fracture with no deformation and no oxide...
- Dental Stone
- A gypsum-based casting material harder and finer than plaster of Paris. Preferred for forensic 3-D casts because it captures detail at the...
- ESLA (Electrostatic Dust-Print Lifter)
- A device that applies a high-voltage static field to a metallised film, attracting dust particles from a footwear impression on a hard...
- EUCAP
- European Collection of Automotive Paints, maintained at the Bundeskriminalamt (BKA) in Wiesbaden; the European counterpart to PDQ for automotive hit-and-run paint comparison.
- FCIN
- Forensic Collision Investigation Network (UK); provides standardised protocols for fatal and serious-injury collision forensic examination, including paint, glass, tyre and filament examination.
- Hot Filament Failure
- Fracture of a tungsten bulb filament while at operational temperature (2,500-3,000 K); characterised by ductile deformation at the break, coiling, and tungsten...
- LA-ICP-MS
- Laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry; a technique that fires a laser pulse at a sample surface, vaporises a tiny amount,...
- PDQ (Paint Data Query)
- RCMP-maintained international automotive paint database. Stores binder, pigment and layer data for vehicle original-equipment finishes from major manufacturers. Used to narrow a...
Explained in these topics
- Impression Evidence: Footprints, Tyre Marks and CastingRCMP database of outsole designs for footwear comparison, used by Canadian forensic laboratories and accessible to partner agencies.
- Vehicle Examination: Paint, Glass, Tyre, Headlight FilamentRCMP tyre tread collection database used to match a tyre impression class characteristics to a specific make and model of tyre.