The Modus operandi reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Jul-2004 (provided by Fixed Reference: snapshots of Wikipedia from wikipedia.org)

Modus operandi

Modus operandi (almost always used in the abbreviated form MO) is a Latin phrase, approximately translatable as "mode of operation", used in police work to describe a criminal's characteristic patterns and style of work.

It can be used to narrow down an investigation amongst a group of criminals with differing MOs. For example, a burglar may always use a back window, broken with a rock. If a group of known criminals are suspected to have committed a burglary, then the characteristic modus operandi can be used to identify the burglar.

A criminal's MO can also be used in profiling, where the MO can give vital clues to a criminal's psychology.

This article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

This is the "Modus operandi" reference article from the English Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.