Anecdotally, I've investigated many different types of crimes, whether they be financial or cybercrime investigations. Depending on the type of crime being committed and depending on how widespread the crime is, that's when it comes more into play.
I'll give an example. In cybercrime investigations, there's something called pride. A lot of the time, cybercriminals start off as gamers, and they are particularly good at a particular game. This is something that may come back later on. They may use a moniker that they used many years ago, because they're proud of what they've accomplished in a certain game. That name may be used sometime later when committing an offence, and you're able to link the name that's being used sometime later to an account that was created years before in a particular game. That gives us some insight as to who might be behind the offence.