Modus Operandi Patterns (MO)

MODUS OPERANDI

Modus operandi (MO) is a Latin term

that means ‘a method of
operating’. It is used by law
enforcement agencies to refer to a
criminal’s pattern of behavior, or his or
her way of committing crime.

A criminal’s MO behavior is functional

in nature. It generally serves any of
three purposes for the offender:

•to protect identity

•to ensure success
•to facilitate escape
Modus Operandi Patterns (MO)

Understanding Criminal Behavior

Law enforcement has long held to

the belief that understanding the
methods criminals use to commit
crime is the best way of searching
for, and ultimately apprehending,
them. This has traditionally required
that detectives be a living topic of
criminal cases and criminal behaviors,
or that they learn to utilize the
knowledge and experience of known
criminals to improve their
investigations,
Modus Operandi Patterns (MO)

Understanding Criminal Behavior

Law enforcement has long held to

the belief that understanding the
methods criminals use to commit
crime is the best way of searching
for, and ultimately apprehending,
them. This has traditionally required
that detectives be a living topic of
criminal cases and criminal behaviors,
or that they learn to utilize the
knowledge and experience of known
criminals to improve their
investigations,
Modus Operandi Patterns (MO)

Understanding Criminal Behavior

General types of MO behaviors include, but are not

limited to:
• offense location selection (i.e. in a public park, on
a school campus, or in a victim’s residence, etc.);
• involvement of a victim during a crime;
• use of a weapon during a crime;
• use of restraints to control the victim during a
crime;
• offender precautionary acts (i.e. wearing a mask,
gloves, covering the victim’s eyes during an attack,
wearing a condom during a rape, forcing the victim
to bathe after a sexual attack, etc.);
• offender transportation to and from the crime
scene (i.e. use of a bicycle, use of a motorized
vehicle, walking, etc.).
 Modus Operandi Patterns (MO)

Influences on Modus Operandi

A criminal’s MO behavior is learned, and

therefore dynamic and malleable.

Common ways that criminals can learn how to

commit crime more skillfully are by gaining
more experience

Criminals can also seek out knowledge directly

Understanding how MO can change over time, and

the types of things that can influence those
changes, has become an important part of using
MO as an effective investigative tool.
Modus Operandi Patterns (MO)

MO vs Criminal’s signature

A signature refers to the distinctive

behaviors that help to serve the criminal’s
psychological and emotional
needs. Physical evidence helps to
establish the signature behaviors of the
criminal who committed the specific crime
while MO refers to the method or
procedure that a criminal uses when
committing a crime.
Modus Operandi Patterns (MO)

Criminal’s signature

Level of injury to the victim, minimal or

excessive.
Specific location or sequence to the criminal
act.

Ejaculation, urination, and/or defecation at the

crime scene
.
Specific type of weapon used.

Personal items taken from victim.

Specific type of victim targeted that refers to

age, race, occupation, or other physical
characteristics.

Anything specifically left at the crime scene,

such as a note or object.
Modus Operandi Patterns (MO)

Unfamiliar Modus Operandi of

Criminals /OCG

1. Ted Bundy
Modus Operandi Patterns (MO)

Unfamiliar Modus Operandi of

Criminals /OCG

2. Theodore John Kaczynsk

Modus Operandi Patterns (MO)

Unfamiliar Modus Operandi of

Criminals /OCG

OCG

1.Russian Mafia
2.Japanese Yakuza
3.Chinese Triad
4.Italian Criminal Enterprises