ABSTRACT
Exploratory spatial data analysis methodologies (ESDA) have become popular and accessible in the last 20 years. Like exploratory data analysis (EDA), ESDA methodologies focus on data and their exploration/visualization in order to find patterns/models that can be used to better understand data. Many disciplines across social and hard sciences have benefited from this new perspective, and criminology is no exception. Although the study of crime through the projection of forensic case data in the spatial dimension is still in its early stage, some examples point to an interesting way ahead.
This chapter briefly illustrates the characteristics of ESDA methodologies.1Itthen presents how they have been used in relation to several fields of forensic science (DNA, shoemarks, toolmarks, glovemarks, images and others). In conclusion, the authors discuss why and how spatial (and time) analysis of forensic case data may foster improved prospectsfor the study of crime, address future developments and emphasize the need to bridge different disciplines in that endeavour.
