{"id":854,"date":"2012-08-08T10:10:10","date_gmt":"2012-08-08T14:10:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/preserving\/?p=854"},"modified":"2012-08-08T10:10:10","modified_gmt":"2012-08-08T14:10:10","slug":"the-latest-crime-prevention-methods-in-the-19th-century","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/preserving\/2012\/08\/08\/the-latest-crime-prevention-methods-in-the-19th-century\/","title":{"rendered":"The latest crime prevention methods in the 19th Century"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

In the 1880’s, M. Alphonse Bertillon, French policeman and researcher, developed his own scientific system of criminal classification, <\/span>named anthropometry, or simply known as Bertillon System<\/span>. The Bertillon system revolved around the careful measurements of physical attributes, such as head length and width, or the length of the middle finger, or the distance of the elbow to fingertip, etc., in order to monitor, track, and more reliably identify or apprehend repeat offenders. Prior to these novel methods, apprehension and identification of criminals was often relegated to specious eye-witness accounts. His research lead directly to modernization of forensics, such as mug shots and fingerprinting. Bertillon’s innovative methods were quickly adopted by penal systems around the world, including the United States. Charles E. Fenton, the Superintendent of the House of Correction in Chicago, was a strong advocate of these methods and promoted them as essential for a safe and secure society. In his 1889 report to the National Prison Association, he states with conviction:
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

“the Bertillon system should be followed in every prison, <\/em>
\n everywhere, as it makes deception impossible; and the <\/em>
\n system of registration in a central office, and of an<\/em>
\n interchange of information between offices through the<\/em>
\n central office, is not only desirable, but it is absolutely<\/em>
\n necessary, if it be the aim to prevent the commission<\/em>
\n of crime by discharged convicts, or their punishment<\/em>
\n as recidivists, if again offending.”<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

“…paroled and discharged prisoners are often
\nweak and not reliable, notwithstanding the promises
\nthey have made. Such men should be made to
\nrealize that, in case of relapse and arrest, they will be
\nidentified, and extra penalties will be imposed….
\nIf he realizes that, if detected in crime, he will certainly
\nbe identified and prosecuted, and an increased penalty
\nbe given because of his having been previously convicted,
\nhe will turn away, and avoid temptation, and say,
\n“Get thee behind me, Satan! it does not pay to commit crime! “”<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Tools of the trade<\/p><\/div>\n

\"\"<\/a>

You must know the nose<\/p><\/div>\n

\n
Description:<\/dt>\n
Felton, Chas. E. The identification of criminals :its value as a preventive of crime, and the importance of unity of action among prison officials in securing a fixed and general system. Chicago : Knight & Leonard Co., 1889.<\/dd>\n
Persistent Link:<\/dt>\n
http:\/\/nrs.harvard.edu\/urn-3:FHCL:8632008<\/a><\/dd>\n
Repository:<\/dt>\n
Widener Library<\/dd>\n
Institution:<\/dt>\n
Harvard University<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the 1880’s, M. Alphonse Bertillon, French policeman and researcher, developed his own scientific system of criminal classification, named anthropometry, or simply known as Bertillon System. The Bertillon system revolved around the careful measurements of physical attributes, such as head length and width, or the length of the middle finger, or the distance of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2559,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-854","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/preserving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/854","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/preserving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/preserving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/preserving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2559"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/preserving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=854"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/preserving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/854\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":878,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/preserving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/854\/revisions\/878"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/preserving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=854"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/preserving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=854"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/preserving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=854"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}