Explore risk assessment in investigations. Learn about threats, vulnerability, likelihood, impact, controls, escalation, and safety responses. Support better prevention, decision-making, safeguarding, and professional risk management today clearly.
The BEHAVE Investigative Framework by Alan Elangovan helps investigators connect behaviour, evidence, motive, timeline, vulnerability, risk, and findings. It supports fair, structured, evidence-based investigations by reducing bias, improving risk assessment, strengthening report writing, and helping investigators reach clear, defensible conclusions across criminal, workplace, school, healthcare, and security cases.
The Mica Endsley Situational Awareness Model explains perception, comprehension, and projection of environmental elements in dynamic settings. It helps investigators maintain awareness, anticipate developments, and make informed decisions, enhancing operational effectiveness, risk management, and response capabilities in complex investigative and security environments.
The Victim-Offender Interaction Model, grounded in Criminal Behavioral Research, examines the dynamics between victim and offender. It analyses patterns of interaction, power imbalance, and situational triggers, helping investigators distinguish conflict from victimisation, identify repeated targeting, and support accurate classification and intervention in criminal and social incidents.
The Red Team Analysis Model, rooted in Military Strategy and intelligence practice, challenges assumptions by adopting an adversary perspective. It helps investigators identify vulnerabilities, test strategies, and anticipate threats, strengthening decision-making, reducing bias, and improving operational readiness in complex investigative and security environments.
The Intelligence Failure Analysis Model, grounded in Intelligence Analysis practice, examines why intelligence breakdowns occur. It analyses cognitive biases, information gaps, and organisational issues, helping investigators identify weaknesses, improve analytical processes, and prevent future failures, strengthening decision-making, accountability, and effectiveness in intelligence and investigative operations.
The Paul Brantingham and Patricia Brantingham Environmental Criminology Integration Model combines spatial, behavioural, and environmental factors to analyse crime patterns. It integrates routine activity, crime pattern, and rational choice perspectives, helping investigators understand offender movement, identify hotspots, and design targeted prevention and investigative strategies.
The Derek Cornish Crime Script Analysis Model breaks crimes into sequential steps, from preparation to completion. It helps investigators understand offender actions, identify intervention points, and disrupt criminal processes, supporting prevention strategies, situational analysis, and targeted investigative planning across different crime types.
The National Intelligence Model (NIM), developed by UK National Police, provides a structured approach to intelligence-led policing. It integrates data collection, analysis, and decision-making to prioritise threats, allocate resources, and support strategic and tactical operations, enhancing effectiveness in crime prevention and investigative processes.
The Herman Goldstein SARA Model (Scanning, Analysis, Response, Assessment) provides a structured problem-solving approach in policing. It helps investigators identify recurring issues, analyse causes, implement targeted responses, and evaluate effectiveness, supporting proactive crime prevention, community policing, and evidence-based decision-making in investigative and operational environments.
The Derek Cornish and Ronald V. Clarke Criminal Decision Process Model analyses how offenders make decisions before, during, and after crimes. It examines rational choices, risks, rewards, and situational factors, helping investigators understand behaviour, anticipate actions, and develop effective prevention, profiling, and investigative strategies.
The Alan Elangovan ALAN Model integrates behavioural analysis, structured questioning, and situational awareness to guide investigations. It emphasises adaptive thinking, layered information gathering, and real-time assessment, enabling investigators to detect deception, interpret intent, and make precise, evidence-based decisions in complex investigative environments.
The Arrest & Detention Decision Model, grounded in Criminal Procedure practice, guides investigators in determining when to lawfully arrest or detain individuals. It considers legal thresholds, evidence sufficiency, risk factors, and procedural safeguards, ensuring decisions are justified, proportionate, and compliant with due process and investigative requirements.
The Use of Force Continuum Model guides law enforcement officers in applying proportionate, lawful, and accountable force. It supports decision-making, officer safety, public protection, de-escalation, documentation, and ethical policing by matching response levels to threat, resistance, and situational risk.
The Entrapment Avoidance Model, influenced by Criminal Law doctrine, ensures investigators do not induce individuals to commit offences they would not otherwise commit. It guides lawful conduct in undercover operations, preserving evidence integrity, protecting suspects’ rights, and ensuring investigations withstand legal scrutiny and judicial review.
The Undercover Operations Model, based on Law Enforcement practice, involves covert infiltration to gather evidence and intelligence. It focuses on identity creation, role immersion, and controlled engagement with suspects, enabling investigators to uncover hidden activities, disrupt criminal networks, and support prosecutions while maintaining operational security and legal compliance.
The Surveillance Detection Route Model, derived from Central Intelligence Agency tradecraft, focuses on identifying and evading surveillance through planned movement patterns. It enables investigators and operatives to detect hostile monitoring, confirm surveillance presence, and enhance operational security, supporting covert operations, counter-surveillance, and sensitive investigative missions.
The Lawrence W. Sherman Hot Spot Policing Model focuses on identifying and targeting high-crime areas where offences cluster. By concentrating police resources in these hotspots, it enhances deterrence, disrupts criminal activity, and improves public safety, supporting data-driven decision-making and effective deployment strategies in modern investigative and policing environments.
The James Q. Wilson and George L. Kelling Broken Windows Theory suggests that visible disorder, such as vandalism and neglect, encourages further crime. Early intervention, environmental maintenance, and proactive policing help prevent escalation, reinforce social norms, and support effective crime control and investigative awareness in public environments.
The Ronald V. Clarke Situational Crime Prevention Model focuses on reducing opportunities for crime by altering immediate environments. It applies practical techniques such as increasing effort, raising risks, reducing rewards, removing excuses, and limiting provocations. Widely used in security planning, it supports proactive prevention rather than reactive investigation strategies.
The Bow-Tie Risk Model influenced by Royal Dutch Shell visually links potential causes, preventive controls, consequences, and mitigation measures, enabling clear understanding of risk pathways and strengthening proactive risk management and incident prevention strategies.
The Root Cause Analysis influenced by Kaoru Ishikawa identifies underlying causes of problems through systematic investigation, using tools like fishbone diagrams and “5 Whys,” enabling effective corrective actions, prevention of recurrence, and continuous improvement in processes and investigations.
The Decision Tree Analysis Model influenced by John von Neumann and Oskar Morgenstern uses branching structures to map choices, probabilities, and outcomes, enabling systematic evaluation of risks, consequences, and optimal decisions in complex scenarios.
The Analytical Hierarchy Process developed by Thomas L. Saaty structures complex decisions into hierarchical levels, using pairwise comparisons and weighting to evaluate alternatives, enabling systematic, quantitative, and consistent decision-making across multiple criteria and priorities.
The ABC Analysis Model developed by B. F. Skinner examines behavior through Antecedents, Behavior, and Consequences, helping identify triggers, actions, and outcomes to understand, predict, and modify behavior in investigative, educational, and organizational contexts.
The 5W1H Analysis Model influenced by Rudyard Kipling uses six key questions—Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How—to systematically gather information, structure analysis, and ensure comprehensive understanding in investigations, problem-solving, and decision-making processes.
The OODA Loop Model developed by John Boyd describes a rapid decision cycle of Observe, Orient, Decide, and Act, enabling individuals and organizations to adapt quickly, outpace adversaries, and maintain strategic advantage in dynamic, high-pressure environments.
The Fraud Pentagon Model developed by Jonathan Marks builds on earlier models by incorporating pressure, opportunity, rationalization, capability, and arrogance, explaining how ego and power influence fraudulent behavior, supporting more comprehensive fraud risk assessment and prevention strategies.
The Fraud Diamond Model developed by David T. Wolfe and Dana R. Hermanson extends the Fraud Triangle by adding capability, emphasizing that individuals must possess skills and position to exploit opportunities, enhancing fraud detection and prevention strategies.
The Fraud Triangle Model developed by Donald R. Cressey explains fraud through three elements—pressure, opportunity, and rationalization—highlighting how individuals justify dishonest acts, guiding prevention strategies by reducing opportunities, addressing pressures, and strengthening ethical controls within organizations.
The Threat Assessment Model influenced by the United States Secret Service evaluates potential threats by analyzing behaviors, intent, capability, and risk factors, enabling early identification, intervention, and prevention of targeted violence through structured, intelligence-driven assessment processes.
The Risk Assessment Model influenced by International Organization for Standardization evaluates risks through identification, analysis, and evaluation processes, enabling organizations to understand threats, assess likelihood and impact, and implement appropriate mitigation strategies for informed, structured decision-making.
The Suspect Prioritization Matrix influenced by investigative practice ranks suspects using criteria such as motive, opportunity, capability, and evidence strength, enabling investigators to allocate resources effectively, focus inquiries, and systematically narrow down high-probability individuals in complex cases.
The Criminal Profiling Model developed by the FBI Behavioral Science Unit analyzes crime scene behavior, victimology, and patterns to infer offender characteristics, motivations, and traits, supporting investigative direction, suspect prioritization, and linkage of related crimes.
The Fishbone Model developed by Kaoru Ishikawa visually maps potential causes of a problem across categories such as people, process, materials, and environment, enabling systematic root cause analysis, structured thinking, and identification of contributing factors for effective problem-solving.
The Victimology Analysis Model developed by Stephen Schafer examines victim characteristics, lifestyle, and interactions to understand victim-offender relationships, identify risk factors, and provide insights that support investigative direction, crime reconstruction, and prevention strategies.
The Holmes & Holmes Serial Crime Typology developed by Ronald M. Holmes and Stephen T. Holmes classifies serial offenders into distinct types based on motivations and behaviors, aiding investigators in understanding offender patterns, profiling suspects, and guiding investigative strategies.
The Incident Command System developed by Federal Emergency Management Agency and U.S. fire services provides a standardized, scalable structure for command, control, and coordination during incidents, enabling effective resource management, clear communication, and unified response across multiple agencies and jurisdictions.
The National Decision Model developed by the College of Policing provides a structured approach to decision-making, integrating information, risk assessment, powers, and ethical considerations to guide consistent, accountable, and proportionate actions in dynamic policing and investigative situations.
The Rational Choice Theory developed by Derek Cornish and Ronald Clarke explains crime as a result of rational decision-making, where offenders weigh risks, rewards, and opportunities, guiding prevention strategies by increasing perceived effort, risks, and reducing potential benefits.
The Routine Activity Theory developed by Lawrence Cohen and Marcus Felson explains crime as occurring when a motivated offender, suitable target, and absence of capable guardians converge, highlighting situational factors influencing criminal opportunities and prevention strategies.
The Problem-Oriented Policing Model developed by Herman Goldstein focuses on identifying underlying crime problems, analyzing root causes, and implementing tailored responses using the SARA process, enabling sustainable crime reduction through proactive, analytical, and community-focused policing strategies.
The Intelligence-Led Policing Model developed by Jerry Ratcliffe focuses on using data analysis, intelligence gathering, and risk assessment to guide proactive policing strategies, prioritize resources, and target high-risk offenders, locations, and criminal networks for effective crime prevention and control.
