Modus operandi
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- For other uses of the term, please see Modus operandi (disambiguation)
Modus operandi (often used in the abbreviated forms MO, M.O. or simply Method) is a Latin phrase, approximately translated as "mode of operation." The plural is modi operandi ("modes of operation"). It is used in police work to describe a criminal's characteristic patterns and style of work. It is also applied in fraud investigation when talking of behavior patterns that indicate specific types of fraud. eg. False identity is a key MO of retail banking sleeper fraud.
The term is also commonly used in English in a non-criminal sense to describe someone's habits or manner of working, the method of operating or functioning.
A criminal's MO may also be used in offender profiling, where it can also be used to find clues to the perpetrator's psychology.
A criminal's "signature" (an unnecessary addition or "flourish" when committing a crime) is an inherent part of MO - the mere act of making the unnecessary addition can become part of the criminal's MO. In fact, that could be the only repeatable part of the criminal's MO, that s/he leaves a "signature", intentionally or unintentionally.
