Final answer:
The first scientific system for identifying criminals was Bertillonage, developed by Alphonse Bertillon in 1879. It included measurements of specific physical characteristics and photographic evidence. It was later replaced by fingerprinting as it was a more accurate and less complicated method.
Step-by-step explanation:
The first scientific system for identifying criminals, adopted widely for record-keeping, was known as Bertillonage, named after its creator, Alphonse Bertillon. Alphonse Bertillon was a French police officer and biometrics researcher. He devised this system in the year 1879. In Bertillonage, a criminal's physical characteristics were measured, such as their height, length, and breadth of the head, the length of the right ear, left foot, and middle finger. In addition to measurements, photographic documentation was also used. Despite its initial widespread adoption, it was later largely replaced by fingerprinting, which proved to be a more accurate and less complicated method of identifying individuals.
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