The Imperial Court of Justice, Police Authorities and Bertillon’s Measurements
The Imperial Court of Justice, Police Authorities and Bertillon’s Measurements

Summary/Abstract: At a time of social and political tensions, the Imperial Court of Justice rendered a unique judgment addressing the practice of police forces with a method of identification developed a few years earlier by Alphonse Bertillon, an anthropologist working at the police prefecture in Paris. An analysis of the line of argumentation of the judges shows how this decision extended the use of identification techniques and sheds light on the objective of their activities more than a century ago. Bertillon’s initial incentive to identify recidivists shows moreover how technical and scientific developments can serve law enforcement and contribute at the same to the production of wrongful convictions.

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