ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at the processes involved in crime hotspot mapping in Delhi Police enquiring into their assumed objectivity. It posits that crime hotspot maps are technologically generated justifications for existing social norms and ideas related to crime and policing. Instead of following a standard operating procedure, the chapter shows that crime mapping processes in Delhi Police rely on arbitrarily classified data, lack a robust address database, and are prone to bureaucratic and political exigencies. It demonstrates that crime maps are influenced by institutional bias against people at the margins of society who are seen as “naturally” prone to crime.
