The earliest form of biometrics dates back to the 1800s. Alphonse Bertillon, a Parisian anthropologist and police department employee, established a method for recognizing criminals that became known as Bertillonage. Bertillonage was a form of anthropometry, an organization by which body dimensions are taken for classification and evaluation purposes. Bertillon's anthropometric system required numerous and exact dimensions of the subtle parts of the human structure for identification. It also involved recording body shapes in relation to activities and patterns of difference on the surface of the body such as scars, birthmarks, tattoos, etc. Bertillon estimated that the odds of matching the stories were 286,435,456 to 1 if 14 characters were used. This was the main criminal identification structure used throughout the 19th period. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Bertillon's identification system was not without errors. For example, he relied heavily on precise measurements for identification purposes, yet two people working on measurements for the same person recorded different results. It was also thought that the measurements taken were unique and only accurate in adulthood. Therefore, someone who committed a crime before adulthood would not have their measurements recorded. Furthermore, it turned out that the characteristics on which Bertillon based his identification system were not unique to any individual. This led to the possibility of one person being convicted of another person's crimes. This possibility became abundantly clear in 1903 when a Will West was confused with a William West. Although the two would later be revealed to be identical twins, the problems posed by Bertillonage's identification system were clear. Due to the amount of time and effort required to painstakingly collect measurements and the overall inaccuracy of the process, Bertillonage was quickly replaced as fingerprinting emerged on the scene as a more efficient and accurate means of identification. Fingerprints, as a means of identification, have proven infallible. It was accepted that everyone possessed a uniquely identifiable and immutable fingerprint. This new system The Henry classification system, named after Edward Henry who first developed and implemented the system in 1897 in India, was the first classification method for fingerprint identification based on physiological characteristics. The system assigns each individual finger a numerical value (starting with the right thumb and ending with the left little finger) and divides the fingerprint records into groupings based on pattern types. The system allows you to search a large number of fingerprint records by classifying the prints according to whether they have an "arc", "spiral" or "loop" and the numerical value subsequently assigned. Please note: This is just an example Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay In 1901 the Henry system was introduced in England. In 1902 the New York Civil Service began testing the Henry method for fingerprinting, and the Army, Navy, and Marines all adopted the method by 1907. From this point on, the Henry system for Fingerprinting became the most commonly used system in English-speaking countries. of identification was accepted as more reliable than Bertillonage.