Citoyenneté et identité en République . Vers une identité républicaine ? L'identification policière au coeur des politiques de « mise en ordre » : retour sur Bertillon et l'anthropométrie judiciaire.((1880-1970)"

Abstract

At the end of the nineteenth century in France, industrial growth and urbanisation radically changed the way of life and destabilised an important part of the population. The new Third Republic advocated values of order, stability and labour and was willing to do everything possible to have them respected. This was the age of the workers' poverty and of important commotions, of passion and profusion of ideas during which violence was considered as negative. Crime reflected the fears of a society on the move and the man of that time wanted to control everything. Criminal anthropometry appeared in such a context. This method was invented by a man called Alphonse Bertillon. This was a new weapon for a policy of repression as well as a revolutionary technique because it put identification and identity at the centre of government's policies and it introduced a spirit and principles that still exist today. For the first time this method enabled the scientific identification of offenders and the sanction of recidivists. The introduction of an elaborate and efficient criminal record was made possible by the drawing up of a strict description of defendants accompanied by a rational technique of classification. Such elements constituted the keystone of the anthropometric system. The evolution of this method, its implementation, its results and consequences will show us how it was a practice enabling first to maintain order and repression and then to introduce a republican technique (and policy) of government based on identity. This method emerged in the criminal context which was facing the fight against the crime and the increasing recidivism. ; A fin du XIXème siècle français, la croissance industrielle et l'urbanisation ont bouleversé les modes d'existence, déstabilisant une frange importante de la population. Au pouvoir, la jeune Troisième République prône des valeurs d'ordre,de stabilité, de travail, et a la volonté de tout mettre en oeuvre afin de les faire respecter. Le crime est le terrain privilégié pour refléter ...