Review of various methods of Forensic analysis of Soils and its Importance as Evidence to Connect the Perpetrator

Forensic Soil Analysis is the use of soil sciences and other disciplines to aid in criminal investigation. Soil is the important physical evidence in all such relevant cases. Soils are like fingerprints because every type of soil that exists has unique properties that itself act as identification markers to include it as the admissible evidence in the court of law. This means that the origin of the soil sample can be tracked back to identify the perpetrator. For example, soil embedded in the footwear of a criminal can be traced back to a specific soil type found at scene of crime. A majority of soil cases involves footprints or tire marks that have been left in the soil. In this paper we are studying the evolution of Soil analysis in Forensic Science through various case studies. We will also study in-brief about procedures adopted in Forensic science for analysing the soil samples.