What is Motive?

What is Motive?

• A. Did the person have a reason to commit the crime
• B. The chance to commit the crime
• C. The physical or mental capacity to commit the crime
• D. The result of the crime

Answer: (A)

Motive is the reason someone decides to commit a crime—the underlying driver or goal they’re trying to achieve. It explains why the act is carried out, not how it could be done or what happens after. This is what investigators look for to understand intent and connect a person to the crime. Think of it this way: motive answers why, whereas opportunity means there was a chance to act, capacity is about whether the person was able to act physically or mentally, and the result is what occurred as a consequence of the act. For example, stealing to pay debts illustrates a motive rooted in financial pressure, while finding an unlocked door would be opportunity, the strength to lift the item is capacity, and the stolen item is the result.

Motive is the reason someone decides to commit a crime—the underlying driver or goal they’re trying to achieve. It explains why the act is carried out, not how it could be done or what happens after. This is what investigators look for to understand intent and connect a person to the crime.

Think of it this way: motive answers why, whereas opportunity means there was a chance to act, capacity is about whether the person was able to act physically or mentally, and the result is what occurred as a consequence of the act. For example, stealing to pay debts illustrates a motive rooted in financial pressure, while finding an unlocked door would be opportunity, the strength to lift the item is capacity, and the stolen item is the result.