Locard’s Exchange Principle is widely known in forensic science and states that “Every contact leaves a trace”. These traces are progressively being seen as crucial to forensic science as they are the remainders of the presence of individuals at a crime scene. Fibres in particular, often make very good associative evidence, because they are transferred without much effort, are prevalent in our every-day life, and we regularly come into direct contact with sources of fibres. The aim of the research in this study was to identify any differences in transfer of fibres from lower garments to seats while overcoming the limitations of previous studies where friction/movement were not incorporated into the transfer method despite being one of the main factors affecting the quantity of fibres transferred. This was done by conducting a transfer simulation to replicate real-life transfer conditions. The results of the study support the research hypothesis that there would be a difference in the number of fibres transferred. However, the results also conclude that more than one factor is responsible for the number of fibres transferred other than fibre type, which was the main property acknowledged in the presented research. Future research that could benefit the field massively is experiments into what extent the factors influencing the transfer of fibres actually play in the transfer and whether one has more influence than another. This would allow the evidential value of fibre evidence to be assessed more accurately in court, leading to more correct convictions.
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