The major flaw in bertillonage was the assumption that measurements were different for each individual. Bertillon knew, from the Belgian statistician Lambert Quetelet, that the chances of two people being the same height were four to one.

What case brought the end of the Bertillon system?

Video from a personal interview with former Honolulu Police Detective Gary Dias, about the racial implications under anthropometry that ended with the Will West Case (2013). In 1903, newly convicted criminal Will West was taken to the Leavenworth Penitentiary and processed for Bertillon measurements.

What replaced the Bertillon system?

The use of fingerprints for establishing identity was started in the 16th century and thereafter replaced the Bertillon System as the worldwide standard for criminal identification.