Going Beyond The Mo: Criminal Profiling, Jack The Ripper And Signature Behavior
Im sure youve all watched a film or TV series where a detective at a crime scene asks whats the MO?. MO stands for Modus Operandi and it literally means way of working, and its what an offender does in order to carry out a crime. For example, a burglar who always uses a glass cutter to gain access to a house is demonstrating an aspect of his or her MO or way of working. From an investigative point of view analysis of the offenders MO can be used to link cases at crime scenes, however, a major stumbling block is that an offenders MO (way of working) can change.
Consequently, according to criminal profilers you have to analyse behavior that transcends the MO. Innate behavior that is static and rigid; behavior that remains the same over time. This behavior relates to the things offenders are psychologically compelled to do over and above what it takes to commit the crime, and in the world of criminal profiling, this type of behaviour is known as signature behavior.
A very useful two part definition of offender signature is provided by Brent Turvey.
1. Signature behaviors:...