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61 FBI L. Enforcement Bull. 1 (1992)
Violent Crime Scene Analysis: Modus Operandi, Signature, and Staging

handle is hein.journals/fbileb61 and id is 35 raw text is: Violent Crime Scene Analysis Modus Operandi, Signature, and Staging By JOHN E. DOUGLAS, Ed.D. and CORINNE MUNN Most crime scenes tell a story. And like most sto- ries, crime scenes have characters, a plot, a beginning, a middle, and hopefully, a conclu- sion. However, in contrast to au- thors who lead their readers to a predetermined ending, the final dis- position of a crime scene depends on the investigators assigned to the case. The investigators' abilities to analyze the crime scene and to deter- mine the who, what, how, and why govern how the crime scene story unfolds. To ensure a satisfactory ending, that is, the apprehension and pros- ecution of the violent crime of- fender, investigators must realize that the outcome depends on their insight into the dynamics of human behavior. Speech patterns, writing styles, verbal and nonverbal ges- tures, and other traits and patterns give shape to human behavior. These individual characteristics work in concert to cause each person to act, react, function, or perform in a unique and specific way. This in- dividualistic behavior usually re- mains consistent, regardless of the activity being performed. Since the commission of a vio- lent crime involves all the dynamics of normal human behavior, learning to recognize crime scene manifestations of behavioral pat- terns enables investigators to dis- cover much about the offender. It also provides a means by which in- vestigators can distinguish between different offenders committing the same types of offense. There are three possible mani- festations of offender behavior at a crime scene-modus operandi, per- sonation or signature, and staging. This article addresses each of these manifestations in order to demon- strate the importance of analyzing a crime scene in terms of human behavior. MODUS OPERANDI In 1989, Nathaniel Code, Jr., a Shreveport, Louisiana, man, was convicted of murder. The jury February 1992 / 1 I- I ., -...~ -.. q. I Imu I % aft G 60 00

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