Identifying Patterns and Links

Identifying Patterns and links is the next stage of the set out stages of the investigative process. This stage involves the police looking at intelligence and identifying any patterns connected to crimes or suspects, for example patterns of murders by a serial killer, or patterns of burglaries in the area. During this stage information will be shared between other police forces and agencies. This stage’s importance depends on the type of crime being investigated. For example In the case of a serial killer a pattern may lead the police to the suspect and apprehend the killer. However if the crime is a one off crime such as a one off murder, the killer is likely to not have left patterns, therefore this stage would not be so important however, it should still be included in the investigation process to assess any possible patterns. Logically this stage in the investigation process has to come after intelligence has been gathered and any facts and intelligence has been analysed as this is the information that would allow the police to identify any patters or links in crimes.


In the OJ Simpson case, Simpson was seen as a potential suspect from almost the very beginning of the investigation. Therefore there was not much focus on identifying any patterns or links of crime in the area. However the fact that OJ had been linked to violently abusing Nicole in the past gave the police more of a reason to see him as a suspect. 

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