A modus operandi (often shortened to M.O. or MO ) is an individual’s habits of working, particularly in the context of business or criminal investigations, but also generally. It is a Latin phrase, approximately translated as ' mode (or manner) of operating ' . ^[1]

Term [ edit ]

The term is often used in police work when discussing crime and addressing the methods employed by criminals . It is also used in criminal profiling , ^[2] where it can help in finding clues to the offender's psychology . ^[3] It largely consists of examining the actions used by the individuals to execute the crime, prevent its detection and facilitate escape. ^[1] A suspect's modus operandi can assist in their identification, apprehension, or repression, and can also be used to determine links between crimes. ^[4]

In business, modus operandi is used to describe a firm's preferred means of executing business and interacting with other firms.

Plural [ edit ]

The plural is modi operandi . ^{[5] [6]} The word operandi is a gerund in the genitive case , "of operating"; gerunds can never be pluralised in Latin, as opposed to gerundives . When a noun with an attribute in the genitive is pluralised, only the head noun normally changes, just as in English with "of": "a fact of life, two facts of life" (unlike, for instance, les modes operatoires in French ).

See also [ edit ]

• Criminology  ? Study of crime and criminal actions/behavior
• John E. Douglas  ? American criminal profiler
• Latin phrases
• Modus ponens  ? Rule of logical inference
• Modus tollens  ? Rule of logical inference
• Modus vivendi  ? Arrangement that allows conflicting parties to coexist in peace
• Signature crime  ? crime which exhibits characteristics unique to an offender's psychology Pages displaying wikidata descriptions as a fallback

References [ edit ]

Further reading [ edit ]

External links [ edit ]

• The dictionary definition of modus operandi at Wiktionary