The way an offender commits crimes may reflect how they act in day-to-day life
Time and place
The time and place the crime is committed is rarely random.
It may tell psychologists their working pattern, confidence level and where they live
'Mental maps' - schema; access to victims and escape routes
Forensic awareness
How familiar the offender is with crime investigation processes
The extent they go to to cover up the crime
Davies found that rapists who concealed their fingerprints often had previous convictions for burglary
Statistical analysis
Detecting patterns of behaviour that are likely to be seen consistently across crimes
This creates a database which is then used to match features of crime against to suggest potentially important details about the offender, such as personal history and family background
