Alphonse Bertillon and the measure of man: More expert than Sherlock Holmes

Abstract

"Every measurement slowly reveals the workings of the criminal. Careful observation and patience will reveal the truth." Thus wrote the French criminologist Alphonse Bertillon, who died 100 years ago in the spring of 1914. Almost forgotten today, he was the most famous criminologist of his time, a household name for his ingenious method of identifying criminals by carefully measuring 11 key dimensions of their bodies. He did more. He established the standardised procedures used in police forces to this day. Richard Farebrother and Julian Champkin look at a flawed near-genius. © 2014 The Royal Statistical Society.