Foundational Concepts

Modus Operandi

MOH-dus op-eh-RAN-dee

Also Known As MO

Citation Formats

General Reference

Crime and Justice Atlas. "Modus Operandi." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://crime.interactiveatlas.org/concepts/modus-operandi.

APA Style

Crime and Justice Atlas. (n.d.). Modus Operandi. Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://crime.interactiveatlas.org/concepts/modus-operandi

BibTeX

@misc{crimeandjusticeatlas-modus-operandi,
  author = {Crime and Justice Atlas},
  title = {Modus Operandi},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://crime.interactiveatlas.org/concepts/modus-operandi},
  note = {Accessed August 30, 2026}
}

The characteristic method or pattern of behavior an offender uses in committing a crime, used by investigators to link offenses to a common perpetrator or to narrow a suspect pool.

Facts

Domain

Criminal investigation 1

Cross-Tradition Connections

Associated With

Criminal Profiling

Criminalistics

Sources

1. Siegel, Criminology: The Core

Larry J. Siegel, Cengage Learning

Saferstein, Criminalistics: An Introduction to Forensic Science

Richard Saferstein, Pearson

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