Before examining its relevance to an investigation, the term motive must be defined. A motive is essentially the "why" of a criminal act. It is the reason and driving force behind committing a crime. Motive can also be viewed "as the emotional, psychological, and material needs that impel and are satisfied by behavior" (Turvey 2002: 307). Usually, a motive does not exist without a social context. Also, a motive is often difficult to discern, since it can …showed first 75 words of 316 total…

…showed last 75 words of 316 total…it may still assist in excluding some suspects. Thus, establishing the motive during the investigation of a crime has several benefits. Benefits include limiting the suspect pool by giving law enforcement personnel a focus in their work and setting priorities (Turvey 2002). To summarize, "motive is an important factor in pointing to possible suspects in a homicide" (Osterburg & Ward 2000: 383). If motive is disregarded altogether, the search for a suspect or suspects might be compromised.