Brian Harvey, age 15, of Butte, Mt., for his question:

WHAT IS THE BERTILLON SYSTEM?

The Bertillon system is a scientific method for identifying people, especially criminals, devised in 1879 by a French criminologist named Alphonse Bertillon. Today the Bertilion system for the most part has been superseded by fingerprinting and other methods of identification in American and European police systems.

The Bertillon system records anthropometric measurements and personal characteristics, such as color of eyes, scare and deformities.

When using the Bertiilon system, the following measurements are taken: body height; reach from fingertip to fingertip; length of the trunk and head and the height seated; length and width of the head; length and width of the right ear; length of left foot; length of left middle finger, length of left little finger; length of left forearm.

The various body measurements were recorded on records and classified according to the length of the head.

Bertillon measurements are difficult to take with uniform exactness, and physical dimensions can change as a result of growth or surgery. It is for these reasons that the system was superseded.