Journey to Redemption: How a criminal became a master detective

Eugene Francois Vidocq was born into the turbulence of 18th century France, amidst the violent backdrop of coming revolution. He was a seasoned thief and a master of disguise; getting caught and repeatedly escaping from France's most dreaded and fortified prisons. Ultimately, he used his knowledge and expertise to reinvent himself as a brilliant crime fighter.

He was the founder and first director of the Brigade de Surete which exists today as the French National Police. Persecuted and resented by the French government, he started his own business as the world's first private detective. His experimentations with fingerprinting, criminal profiling, and ballistics became the model for the FBI and Scotland Yard.