A motive is the cause that moves people to induce a certain action.^[1] In criminal law, motive in itself is not an element of any given crime; however, the legal system typically allows motive to be proven to make plausible the accused's reasons for committing a crime, at least when those motives may be obscure or hard to identify with. However, a motive is not required to reach a verdict.^[2] Motives are also used in other aspects of a specific case, for instance, when police are initially investigating.^[2]

The law technically distinguishes between motive and intent. "Intent" in criminal law is synonymous with mens rea ('guilty mind'), which means the mental state shows liability which is enforced by law as an element of a crime.^[3] "Motive" describes instead the reasons in the accused's background and station in life that are supposed to have induced the crime. Motives are often broken down into three categories: biological, social and personal.^[4]