ABSTRACT
The modus operandi (MO) refers to the specific characteristics of offenders. This generally focuses on three things: (1) to protect their identity (how to maintain anonymity during an offense), (2) to ensure success, and (3) to successfully escape. Batterers and incest offenders do not care about anonymity; after all, the victim is almost always someone with whom they have an ongoing relationship. But, the specific MO may also include the pattern of violent behavior, how they set the victims up, and the specific violent behavior involved in the offense, as well as how the offender manipulates the victim into remaining in the relationship and decreasing the likelihood of the victim telling anyone about the violence. Specifics about how the offender behaved and statements made before, during, and following the offense also are part of the offender’s MO. (See Hazelwood [1995] for more detailed information about modus operandi.)
It is important to understand the limitations of psychological testing, risk actuarial tools, and profiles and typologies. It is examiners’ and interviewers’ responsibility to have read the appropriate testing manuals and corresponding reviews and literature for techniques and testing used. Simply asking around is not adequate. Understanding the limitations is extremely important. A good example is the population that was used to standardize a test. I have seen several testing tools that included only men in their research sample, yet indicate in their test manual that the tool can also be used with female offenders. That is not appropriate or ethical. If the sample did not include females, at best, all you can do is compare the females scores to the males,
but the scores mean nothing
.
