Journal de recherche médico-légale

A Novel Method for the Analysis of Slash Cuts to Clothing

Abstract

Esta Bostock, Gareth Michael Burdon Parkes and Graham Williams

Slash attacks form a major element of physical assaults, involving a sharp implement such as a knife. If a slash attack is inflicted onto a surface covered with fabric, such as clothing, then that fabric may receive a slash cut. Investigation of the slash cut can provide further information regarding the nature of the implement and the action of the attack.
This study aims to identify a quantifiable correlation between the nature of the slash cut and the implement causing it. The study also aims to develop a method of categorising the damage, as well as a way of measuring the sharpness of a knife without blunting the blade.
Two new simple techniques were developed and applied to a range of household implements. A quantifiable correlation could be seen between the damage categorisation and the relative sharpness of the implement. The degree of this correlation varied depending on the fabric type.