What a fantastical bio: once Eugene Vidocq was a criminal mater mind! then later he became the most influential crime fighter in the history of detection!?and it's all totally true. No wonder the man inspired everyone from Victor Hugo, to Dickens, to Edgar Allan Poe.
According to the Vidocq Society the man can be credited with these achievements:
* Introducing record keeping (a card-index system), criminalistics, and the science of ballistics into police work.
* The first person to make plaster-of-paris casts of foot/shoe impressions.
* A master of disguise and surveillance.
* Held patents on indelible ink and unalterable bond paper.
* Founded the first modern detective agency and credit bureau, Le Bureau des Renseignements.
Look, I don't feel like I have to defend this. I've watched a lot of CSI in the last two weeks, and big Nick is the heart of the show.