Geographic profiling (also referred to as geoprofiling)is based on the premise that criminals tend to commit acts of crimes within a comfort zone located near but not too close to their residence. This least-effort principle means that by analyzing the geographic components of at least five incidents, the success of identifying the location of a criminal climbs to 90 percent. By weighting and mapping out key locations, a “jeopardy surface” can be generated showing densities of where the criminal is most likely to be found.

Researchers from the Queen Mary University of London have applied the principles of geographic profiling in a study that attempts to unlock the true identity of the elusive street artist Banksy. In the study, the researchers analyzed 140 locations associated with Banksy in Bristol and London. Using a Dirichlet process mixture (DPM) model of geographic profiling, the researchers input publicly available location information about Banksy’s artwork in the two cites and were able to highlight known locations associated with one candidate for the street artist’s identity. First fingered as the person behind the Banksy persona in a July 2008 article published in the Daily Mail, artist Robin Cunningham was identified most likely to be Banksy by this study.

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