Vidocq Society

The Society is named for Eugène-François Vidocq, 19th century pioneer French criminologist and first private detective, who helped police by using the psychology of the criminal to solve cold case homicides. A former criminal himself, he created the private detective agency, and is considered to be one of the fathers of modern criminology for his numerous innovations: invention of indelible ink and unalterable bond paper and the introduction of undercover work and ballistics; a record keeping system for criminal investigation and the first ever plaster cast impressions of shoe prints The Society holds regular meetings where law enforcement officials from around the world present cold cases for review. ==Membership==

Members are forensic professionals: current and former FBI profilers, homicide investigators, scientists, psychologists, prosecutors and coroners who use their experience to provide new insights for investigations that have gone cold. Membership is capped at 82, one for each year of Vidocq's life. ==History==

The Society was formed in 1990 by William Fleisher, Richard Walter, and Frank Bender. ==Criteria for cases==

Vidocq will only consider cases that meet certain requirements: they must be unsolved deaths more than two years old and the case must be formally presented to them by the appropriate law enforcement agency. ==See also==