A signature crime is a crime which exhibits characteristics idiosyncratic to specific

criminal In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Can ...

s, known as signature aspects, signature behaviours or signature characteristics. Where a ''

modus operandi A ''modus operandi'' (often shortened to M.O.) is someone's habits of working, particularly in the context of business or criminal investigations, but also more generally. It is a Latin phrase, approximately translated as "mode (or manner) of op ...

'' (MO) concerns the practical components of a crime which can also be unique to one suspect, signature aspects fulfill a psychological need and, unlike the MO, do not often change. Two examples cited in '' Crime Classification Manual'' by John Douglas are a

bank robber Bank robbery is the criminal act of stealing from a bank, specifically while bank employees and customers are subjected to force, violence, or a threat of violence. This refers to robbery of a bank Branch (banking), branch or Bank teller, tell ...

from Michigan who required tellers to undress during the robbery so he could photograph them, and a rape case where the perpetrator forced the husband to return home and be humiliated by the event. These characteristics move beyond modus operandi, because they fulfill a psychological need rather than a need of practical execution of the crime. The 1898 Gatton murders also exhibited signature aspects. Following the murders, the bodies were re-arranged so their legs crossed over their bodies with the feet pointing west. Ted Bundy also used a complex series of signature behaviours.

Notes

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References

*Douglas, J.E., Burgess, A.W., Burgess, A.G., & Ressler, R.K. (1992). ''Crime classification manual: A standard system for investigating and classifying violent crimes''. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. *Keppel, R.D., & Birnes, W.J. (1997). ''Signature killers: Interpreting the calling cards of the serial murderer''. New York, NY: Pocket Books. Criminology Offender profiling Criminal investigation