How to Hire an Investigator to Identify the Criminal Patterns of Perpetrators

I agree with you that the routine activity theory enables investigators to identify the criminal patterns of perpetrators. In criminal justice, investigators observe the behavioral patterns of victims and their attackers to establish the connection. According to Jiang et al. (2018), this routine theory activity reveals that people choose their behaviors and are inclined to act based on their desires to avoid pain and pursue pleasure. Therefore, the choice of action is determined by the ability of each option to generate pleasure, pain, or joy. In your post, you have discussed the hot spot crime and series as the most common crime patterns that are evaluated in criminal analysis. Through the application of the routine activity theory, criminal analysts can identify factors that contribute to the rates of crime. For instance, to understand the hot spot crime pattern, criminal analysts attempt to determine why specific regions are prone to illegal activities, the probable perpetrators, and the type of crimes that occur in the area. By understanding these patterns, criminal investigators can implement effective crime reduction strategies. For instance, you mention that law enforcement uses spatial information to reduce crime in the identified areas. However, you fail to mention how law enforcement uses the data to reduce crime. Secondly, you explain the series pattern, also known as the serial. The routine activity theory allows law enforcement to understand why a serial criminal offender engages in particular crime and the primary factors that motivate them. By understanding the underlying psychological, emotional, and physical factors that drive a serial criminal to act, crime analysts can implement a plan to capture them. You mention that serial murders follow the specific time frame, methodology, and select their victims. These are among the factors that law enforcement looks into when investigating a serial killer case since criminals following a series pattern adhere to specific approaches. I agree with you that crime pattern is the foundation of crime analysis. Law enforcement depends on crime patterns to solve crimes. During an investigation, law enforcement relies on collected data and information to examine why and how the criminal activities are being carried out in a specific region. Crime patterns are developed over some time as the criminals master different aspects of their intended criminal acts, which will enable them to succeed. According to Santos (2014), statistical data and information facilitate law enforcement in identifying and understanding the characteristics of a crime and the criminals behind them. Therefore, each crime pattern fits in a specific category, which allows the investigator to analyze the trends and rate of criminal activities. Your post is rather elaborate and assists the reader in understanding the different crime patterns. You have focused on series crime patterns and the spatial pattern (hot spot, hot target, and hot product). Series offenders participate in the same criminal activities within a short period, which provides the criminal analyst with clues and evidence of the criminal. By analyzing the crime patterns in a series pattern, law enforcement can detect the behaviors and motivational factors that define the criminal. Additionally, criminal acts in a series pattern possess certain similarities that allow the police to conduct and in-depth analysis of the crimes committed. Criminals that engage in spatial pattern crimes always target specific locations or victims that frequent the same area. Therefore, the investigator assesses the locations mainly targeted by the criminals and focuses their efforts in these areas. Overall, it is evident that crime pattern is the basis of crime analysis as it assists law enforcement in solving crimes. 

Reference 

Santos, R. B. (2014). The Effectiveness of Crime Analysis for Crime Reduction: Cure or Diagnosis? Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice , 30(2), 147–168. https://doi.org/10.1177/1043986214525080