The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1894-02-16
TO IDENTIFY THEM.
THE FRENCH SYSTEM OF MAKING
SURE OF CRIMINALS.

DR.. Alphonse Bertillon, the author OF
the French system for the Identification
of criminals, writes as follows in re-
gard to the best means for making it OF
general use by the police of the large
capitals of Europe:
The growing ease and rapidity OF
communication between the great cities
of Europe have so lessened distances that
the intercourse between the police of the
various countries daily becomes more
frequent. London, for example, may
now be said to extend as far as Paris,
and Brussels is practically suburb of
the French capital. In the midst of
these daily exchanges of good services
where is the officer who has not longed
for the creation of an international de-
scriptive-or distinctive mark, signal
eltiques-method and language?
In the other branches Of human ac-
tivity, especially IN electricity, con-
crosses have, in proportion to the nee
essity, supplied this want of a universal
understanding. 1t IS thus that the cleo
trical units-watt, ampere, volt, etc.
have been created and unanimously
adopted Why should not the police OF
civilized-or policed, for it is all one
countries do as much for the description
and notation of the different shapes of
forehead. nose, color of the eye, ETC.?
There exist under the name of hip
pology whole treatises filled with words
of English origin for the description of
the coat and the points of the horse.
For the description of the human being
all seems left to chance. Nothing was
attempted in this direction until the APP
pointment by Mr.. Asquith of the COM
mission for comparing the different
methods of Identification and descrip-
ton
This commission found at Paris, by
the side of a system Of measurement
which has borne some little testimony
everywhere, very carefully considered
method of describing the human body,
and the face in particular. There is in
this neither invention nor personal pro-
prietorship. My intervention has con-
sisted in transporting and adapting to
the wants of the police the procedures
of description in use in anatomical sci
ences, and particularly in anthropology.
"Anthropometry, properly so called,
is only part of that whole knowledge
necessary in tracking criminals, and its
sole aim is to supply basis of CLASH
fication.' One is able by means Of the
metrical information supplied by it to
classify several hundrd thousand indi-
vldual notifications. But let me hasten
to say that these notifications should
themselves always be accompanied by
an abstract of particular marks found
upon the person examined, and it is this
last document much more than the
agreement of measurements which is
appealed to to give judicial certainty to
an Interior Identification.
AT Paris photographs of the person
in profile and full face are added, which
by themselves also afford the certainty
of Identification. Thus the elements of
certainty are not wanting. A photo
graph or impression of the ear would
alone suffice to establish an identity. 1t
is, as a matter of fact, impossible among
100, 600 individuals to find two ears en-
actly alike-except in the case of twin
brothers.
THE great advantage of adding to the
anthropometrica notification a complete
descriptive photograph Of a person is
that the police are provided with docu-
ment which, in case of fresh offense,
of escape, ETC., can be looked to to rem
der the greatest possible assistance.
ut may be well to add to these ele-
ments of information, clearly independ-
ent of one another-measurem par
ticular marks and profile Photograph
which, together, 10 years experience
has shown to be absolutely infallible-
a fourth element, finger tip impress
sions' d'impression des filigrammes du
pouce). 1t goes without saying that
see no major difficulty in it. But | am
afraid that the exercise of the process
may at first sight appear much more
simple than it really is. In the first
place, let me repeat that the finger tip
PtOSC'S hSlLhOA hOCo away Wlbh hOI lC-
places i'll any way judicial anthropom-
etry, for these delineations are so diver
sified that they do not offer an adequate
element of classification-that is a point
which no one disputes. Therefore the
finger tip process should De considered
as affording supplementary information
only, capable at the most of replacing
photography.
Moreover, does not Mr.. F. Cation
himself say that the examination of
these impressions can be properly made
only by means of Photographic enlarge
ments? Then why not photograph the
man himself whose measurements have
just been taken?
II must own, however, that up to the
present l have always postponed the full
trial of the finger tip process on account
of the unpleasantness of sending all my
subjects before the court with their fin
gers more or less blackened, for every
body knows how viscous printing ink is
and how difficult to get off. Never
theless l have quite determined, if
the process should become customary
in England, to petition the minister of
the interior and the project of police for
the requisite authority to add it to the
anthropometric description-so great is
IL