The Vidocq Society - A Private Crime Fighting Organization

Union League Building in Philadelphia - Vidocq Society Meeting Place.

While doing research for Terror in Ypsilanti: John Norman Collins Unmasked, I came across an interesting organization of forensic investigators called the Vidocq Society. This is a non-profit organization of dedicated crime fighting professionals who are known to law enforcement agencies but generally unknown to the public.

The Vidocq Society views themselves as "crime solution catalysts who operate outside the limelight." The group is dedicated to the service of society and shuns publicity. Any case or crime details released to the press are handled by the referring crime enforcement agency and not the society.  They prefer to work in the background. Their credo is "Veritas Veritatum" [The Truth of Truths].

The Vidocq Society is a highly regarded organization with closed membership rolls. The privilege to wear the society's unique red, white, and blue rosette has been bestowed on fewer than one hundred and fifty men and women. When a position opens up, potential new members must be sponsored by existing members. Seasoned investigators with verifiable skills often volunteer their forensic skills before being elected to Vidocq Society membership.

The group was co-founded in 1990 by Richard D. Walter [forensic psychologist], Frank Bender [forensic sculpture], and William Fleisher [FBI/U.S. Customs Special Agent] in Philadelphia at the Olde City Tavern in the Down Town Club. The society currently meets every third Thursday of the month at the Union League of Philadelphia.

At the Society's monthly meetings, they dissect the evidence under review hoping to rekindle or refocus the investigation. Unsolved cases are brought to their attention by some police investigating agency or a family member of the victim of an unsolved death or homicide. The Society serves in the background at the pleasure and direction of law enforcement.

Eugene Francois Vidocq

The Vidocq Society is named after Eugene Francois Vidocq, who in the Eighteenth Century was a crook turned cop. He is considered the father of modern criminal investigation. Vidocq was named the first chief of the Surete, founded in 1812. The Surete was originally the criminal investigative bureau of the Paris Police, but in 1966 it became the National Police Force of France. The Surete was the inspiration for the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the United States and Scotland Yard in London. It is considered the pioneer of all crime fighting organizations in the world.

First Edition Cover

Eugene Francois Vidocq knew author Victor Hugo. In Hugo's novel Les Miserables, Hugo modeled both of his primary characters, Jean Valjean and Inspector Javert, after Monsieur Vidocq. Edgar Allen Poe based Inspector C. Auguste Dupin in The Murders in the Rue Morgue on Vidocq also. Hermann Melville mentioned him in Moby Dick, as did Charles Dickens in Great Expectations. These authors were all inspired by Vidocq's real life exploits which contributed to his legendary crime solving reputation.

Among other things, Vidocq introduced to the Surete a card-index record system cross-referencing criminals and their crimes. He also pioneered the use of undercover surveillance, disguises, informants, and plainclothesmen. Vidocq was an innovator who applied the new science of criminology to police work. When he retired from the Surete, he opened the first private investigation agency and the first credit reporting bureau. Every private-eye in real life or in fiction owes Monsieur Vidocq a debt of gratitude.

Mark Safarik's Killer Instinct on Biography Channel Tuesdays at 10 PM EST/PST

The first season of Mark Safarik's forensic profiling show, Killer Instinct, premiered last Tuesday on the Biography Channel at 10:00 PM. After one episode, I'm hooked.

I found the show to be first rate, compelling, and informative. The distinction between modus operandi and ritualistic behavior made in the case will be helpful to me as I edit and revise the book I'm working on, In the Shadow of the Water Tower.
  
Mark is a former FBI profiler who is now the executive director of Forensic Behavioral Services Inc. In my conversation with Mark last week, congratulating him on his new show, he had this to say to viewers:

"My goal in filming the show was to give the audience insight into how I analyze and interpret the dynamic interaction of the offender, the victim, and the crime scene by integrating the behavioral, forensic, and physical evidence in an understandable series of events that address 'the totality of the circumstances' from both the chronological and temporal (time) view. 

This is done to understand what happened at the crime scene, how it happened, and most importantly, why it happened. In complex scenes with multiple victims, offenders, and/or scene locations, crimes with significant aberrant, excessively violent, or unusual behaviors are often not well understood by law enforcement investigators with little or no experience in investigating such crimes.

The cases in my television series are difficult cases in which I demonstrate how I assisted law enforcement to understand, investigate, and ultimately testify as an expert in these cases. I also wanted to make the audience aware that the bulk of the credit for solving these crimes always goes to the investigators who do all the hard work examining evidence, doing interviews, and keeping the case organized in a way that would support eventual prosecution."

"Thanks very much for sharing this with your audience. I hope they find the process in the episodes as interesting as I always have."

Mark E. Safarik M.S., V.S.M. (FBI Retired)
FBSInternational@gmail.com

For more information about Forensic Behavioral Services, view the link.  http://www.fbsinternational.com/main.html

Killer Instinct Promo: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=4996350351045