Conference - "The contribution of science to forensic investigations" - Journées Nationales du Réserviste

On the occasion of the National Reservist Days, take part in the exceptional conference "The contribution of science to judicial investigations" by Lieutenant General Jacques Hebrard, to discover the professions and missions of the Gendarmerie scientifique, from the identification of traces taken from the scene of an offence to the analysis of the most sophisticated computer systems.

Meet us on Wednesday October 4, at the Vanoise amphitheater, building 4E, from 9:45 to 11:15 am.

About the conference

In the criminal investigation department, everything starts with the findings. For a long time, these were limited to recording the constituent elements of the offence, but are now largely based on technical and forensic investigations, the development of which, initiated over a century ago, has certainly suffered from the "religion of the confession" favoured by the inquisitorial procedure.

Because it is essential to keep pace with the technical changes that are transforming our lifestyles and stirring up the imagination of criminals, and because scientific proof must be established using the most effective and reliable means available, forensic science must be resolutely forward-looking and attentive to technological advances of all kinds.

From the crime scene to laboratory work, from genetic or fingerprinting to predictive techniques, specialists now rely on increasingly innovative and sophisticated techniques to help the judiciary reconstruct criminal acts and identify their perpetrators. Gendarmes specializing in forensic operations are therefore indispensable in today's investigations, as the task of investigation is as complex as the world around it.

With this in mind, the Gendarmerie Nationale is always on the lookout for the human skills and technical resources it needs to maintain public order, and it is giving itself the means to achieve this.
Every year, it recruits officers through competitive examinations to fill scientific posts.

About Lieutenant General Jacques Hebrard

In 1989, he joined the Centre Technique de la Gendarmerie Nationale to help develop the creation of the National Gendarmerie Criminal Research InstituteHe is head of the Gendarmerie's forensic laboratory (IRCGN). Head of a forensics division which includes ballistics, fingerprints, vehicles and documents, he is responsible for implementing the laboratory techniques associated with these activities. As part of the Scientific and Technical Higher Military Education program, he attended a academics post-graduate course at the Institut de Police Scientifique et de Criminologie at Lausanne University (Switzerland). For 3 years, he used this academics to develop new activities within the IRCGN.

Promoted to lieutenant-colonel in 1997, he served as deputy director of the IRCGN, then took over as head of the Savoie group in Chambéry, which he headed until the summer of 2002, when he was promoted to colonel. In 2003, he became director of the IRCGN and designed the new scientific laboratory, before being appointed brigadier general and forensic advisor to the Director General of the Gendarmerie Nationale in 2009. He then became head of the Gendarmerie Nationale's Judicial Pole, which brings together the Institut de Recherche Criminelle de la Gendarmerie Nationale (IRCGN), the Service Central de Renseignements Criminals (SCRC) and the Centre de Lutte Contre les Criminalités Numériques (C3N).

On August 1, 2015, he was appointed Commander of the Hauts-de-France Gendarmerie Region, and Gendarmerie for the Nord defense and security zone. He was promoted to the rank and appellation of Lieutenant General on November 1, 2016. Since 2018, General Hebrard has been national coordinator for assistance to victims and families of disaster victims at the Délégation Interministérielle à l'Aide aux Victimes. He is also an Officer of the Légion d'Honneur and Commander of the Ordre National du Mérite.