All Of London's Murders...Mapped

M@
By M@ Last edited 162 months ago
All Of London's Murders...Mapped

murdermap.jpg

A new site is compiling data on every reported murder in the capital's history, and then mapping the results. Murder Map will eventually bring together the incredible archives of the Old Bailey with details of modern murders. In the site owner's own words:

Murder Map is an ever evolving project, whose scope stretches into the future as well as the past, and the database will constantly be updated with new cases, so the picture it creates is as complete as possible. What truths this picture will reveal, or what conclusions can be drawn from it, is up to the users of the site

The Google map is a simple, clean affair, allowing the user to filter results by murder type and call up information about each case. So far, the map only goes back to 2008 (with a few special cases such as the Ripper murders). Yet even in this short time interval, the number of pins is depressing. The geographic spread is also an eye-opener. Richmond, The City and Hampstead stand out as murderless pockets in an otherwise homogeneously dense circle of homicide. The site also has a News section, pulling in daily reports, and a blog about murder law.

The whole project is an impressive tool for social historians and criminologists, but also offers a macabre if fascinating visualisation for the rest of us.

Last Updated 13 September 2010