{"id":3387,"date":"2018-07-13T08:17:12","date_gmt":"2018-07-13T07:17:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/citysecuritymagazine.com\/?p=3387"},"modified":"2022-05-05T10:44:12","modified_gmt":"2022-05-05T09:44:12","slug":"gait-recognition-identification-tool","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citysecuritymagazine.com\/security-management\/gait-recognition-identification-tool\/","title":{"rendered":"Gait recognition: a useful identification tool"},"content":{"rendered":"

A useful tool in Identifying\u00a0Perpetrators – \u00a0Gait recognition<\/strong><\/h1>\n

The way we walk – our gait – is unique to us all and gait recognition has proved to be a useful device in the forensic toolbox.<\/em><\/p>\n

We are all individuals in the way we walk and each person moves in a unique way, making it possible to recognise a person by their gait: the style or manner in which a person walks or runs. Law enforcement around the world is finding this a helpful addition in identifying perpetrators. Forensic Gait Analysis – the identification of a person by their gait or by features of their gait – was first admitted as evidence in 2000 in the matter of R v Saunders at the Old Bailey, Central Criminal Court, London. Even though the perpetrator wore two pairs of trousers, mask and gloves, he could not disguise the way he walked.<\/p>\n

Gait analysis in Identifying perpetrators<\/h4>\n

Gait analysis evidence has value for evidential and investigative uses. In the notorious case dubbed by the media as \u2018The Night Stalker\u2019, gait analysis was used in the investigation by helping to find the perpetrator. This was one of the UK\u2019s most high profile and longstanding, unsolved cases of serial gerontophile rape, burglary and indecent assault. Here, the gait analysis information was of considerable benefit in helping to find and to arrest the offender. One recurring feature in the CCTV clips of the perpetrator was his heavily disguised face.<\/p>\n

But the UK is only one of a number of countries waking up to the benefits that gait recognition can provide in the fight against crime. The first case in Canada where gait analysis evidence was used was in R v Aitken. A man was shot multiple times outside his apartment building. The incident was captured on security CCTV, which showed a male with a concealed face arriving at the building carrying something, which appeared to be covered by a towel. Forensic gait analysis evidence showed the defendant demonstrated gait characteristics bearing a very strong similarity to the images of the perpetrator and the same person had earlier been surveying the premises. The jury accepted the evidence and the defendant was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. The BC Court of Appeal dismissed the defence appeal in 2012 and the Supreme Court of Canada denied leave to appeal in 2013.<\/p>\n

Body movements<\/h4>\n

The process of walking is a complicated activity, which generally begins with the movement of the pelvis. Our arms move to help counterbalance the distribution of weight from side to side and maintain the head pointing in the direction of travel. When an individual\u2019s foot makes contact with the ground, force travels into the foot up through the lower limb and spine to the person\u2019s head. How the body deals with those forces, biomechanics, affects how an individual moves. Gait analysis is the detailed study of the positioning and movement of the way in which an individual walks through the various stages of the walking cycle. The movement of a person\u2019s body is unique to each and this \u2018signature\u2019 of a person\u2019s walk contributes to the forensic toolbox.<\/p>\n