When you look at a problem from two different angles, your chances of solving it double. And this character proved this fact by his own example. 
By the beginning of the 19th century, France had become a cauldron of crime. Thieves, swindlers and murderers of all stripes thrived in an atmosphere of almost complete impunity. It is unknown what would have happened to the country next if not for the antihero. Yes, who later turned into a hero. 
Eugene Francois Vidocq
Eugene François Vidocq was well acquainted with the criminal kitchen from the inside. Because he himself was a typical representative of the criminal fraternity and managed, as they say, to rewind several terms for theft and fraud.
The boy was born in 1775 in the family of a baker and from an early age demonstrated a penchant for a less than blissful lifestyle. He began to hone his skills with his own parents - he stole silverware, pawned it and successfully squandered his dusty earnings.
Then Eugene realized that wasting away over rolls, like his father, was never his calling, and set off on a free voyage. Over the years of his free life, the guy tried himself in different directions. He even served in the army for a short time. He didn’t deny himself anything, but the first time he ended up in the dungeons was out of sheer stupidity: he got into a fight with the new idol of his beloved. Already in prison, he forged documents quite efficiently. And the following years turned into a series of imprisonments and short stays in freedom.
Hello new life 
Then Eugene got pretty tired of all this pandemonium. And around 1800 he decided to change his life. He laid low so that his old tricks would be forgotten, and then, under a new name, he got a wife and even his own business. So 10 years passed. But the past caught up with the Parisian again. Vidocq's former cellmates materialized and began to blackmail him.
And he decided to ask for police protection. And the law enforcement officers unexpectedly invited him to work. The small office where Vidocq sat subsequently grew into the French criminal police.
The former criminal started right off the bat: he quickly caught a well-known counterfeiter, and solved the theft (unexpectedly) of lampposts that were stolen right from the city square.
Colleagues found the newly minted detective’s methods suspicious. After all, he moved in the very thick of the criminal world. Is he really deceiving and has not given up his criminal activities? But, no: Vidocq was in his brothels, taverns and gambling houses. And I received all the information, as they say, first-hand.
Gradually, the detective assembled his own team - a specific one, made up of former criminals. But they were loyal to the boss and ensured a high detection rate.
"Werewolf" of French streets 
The streets were gradually cleared of criminal elements. Paris began to breathe more freely. And the former criminal turned into a respected head of the police department, who was popularly known as a faceless man. More precisely, many-sided, because he knew how to masterfully change his appearance. So that even acquaintances did not recognize Vidocq in the elegant gentleman or sophisticated lady. But by that time he was already almost 60 years old. And quite deservedly, both law-abiding citizens and inveterate bandits called the police chief a werewolf. 
Every career ends sooner or later. But after retirement, Vidocq did not start growing herbs or playing cards for days. Under a pseudonym, he began writing his memoirs (and there was a lot to remember) and opened a private office, the Bureau of Investigation. However, it was not possible to rest at all: he sent many dashing people to jail. And one day Vidocq even ended up there himself - his ill-wishers set him up. 
Still from the film "Vidocq" 2001
But overall, he lived a bright and rather long life (he died in his early 80s). Subsequently, he became a character in books, in particular, the hero of Hugo’s Les Miserables, and in films. 
Still from the film "Vidocq: Ghost Hunter" 2018
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