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Organised Offender

Definition

FBI BSU category. Premeditated, brought weapon, controlled the scene, removed evidence. Suggests planning, social competence and a learning curve across offences.

Related terms

Disorganised Offender
FBI BSU category. Spontaneous, weapon of opportunity, chaotic scene, evidence everywhere. Suggests stress, mental illness or proximity to the scene.
Holmes Typology
Four-type serial-killer classification by Holmes & Holmes (1988): visionary, mission, hedonistic (lust/thrill/comfort sub-types), and power-control.
Mixed Scene
A scene with both organised and disorganised features. Canter (2004) showed this is the majority case, which is why the dichotomy is...
Motivation
The internal driver behind a criminal act: what the offender was trying to achieve, consciously or otherwise. Lust, anger, power, profit, ideology...
Typology
A classification of offenders by behavioural pattern at the scene and across cases. Used to narrow suspect pools, not to identify individuals.

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