Tagging Banksy: using geographic profiling to investigate a modern art mystery

Type Journal Article Author Michelle V. Hauge Author Mark D. Stevenson Author D. Kim Rossmo Author Steven C. Le Comber URL http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14498596.2016.1138246 Pages 1-6 Publication Journal of Spatial Science ISSN 1449-8596 Date March 3, 2016 Extra 00000 DOI 10.1080/14498596.2016.1138246 Accessed 2016-03-10 03:27:52 Library Catalog Taylor and Francis+NEJM Abstract The pseudonymous artist Banksy is one of the UK’s most successful contemporary artists, but his identity remains a mystery. Here, we use a Dirichlet process mixture (DPM) model of geographic profiling, a mathematical technique developed in criminology and finding increasing application within ecology and epidemiology, to analyse the spatial patterns of Banksy artworks in Bristol and London. The model takes as input the locations of these artworks, and calculates the probability of ‘offender’ residence across the study area. Our analysis highlights areas associated with one prominent candidate (e.g., his home), supporting his identification as Banksy. More broadly, these results support previous suggestions that analysis of minor terrorism-related acts (e.g., graffiti) could be used to help locate terrorist bases before more serious incidents occur, and provides a fascinating example of the application of the model to a complex, real-world problem. Short Title Tagging Banksy