Hans Gross

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Hans Groß (Gross, Grosz), or Hanns Groß (December 12, 1847, Graz - December 9, 1915, Graz) was an Austrian criminal jurist and an examining magistrate. He is believed to be the creator of the field of criminalistics; he taught as a professor at the Chernivtsi University, Prague University and the University of Graz, and established the Institute of Criminology in Graz.

The release of his book "Handbuch fur Untersuchungsrichter, Polizeibeamte, Gendarmen, u.s.w." (A handbook for examining magistrates, police officials, military policemen, etc.) in 1893, is marked as the birth of the field of criminalistics, applying science to the practices of crime investigation and law. The work combined in one system fields of knowledge that had not been previously integrated, and which could be successfully used against crime. Gross adapted some fields to the needs of criminal investigation, such as crime scene photography.

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Handbuch für Untersuchungsrichter als System der Kriminalistik (Handbook for Examining Magistrates as a System of Criminology), 2 vols., 1893.
Kriminalpsychologie (Criminal Psychology), 1898.
Enzyklopädie der Kriminalistik (Encyclopedia of Criminology), 1901.
Die Erforschung des Sachverhalts strafbarer Handlungen (The Investigation of the Circumstances of Crimes).