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Scientists Use Technique Used on Serial Criminals to Confirm Banksy’s Identity

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This picture taken on December 12, 2015 shows a street art graffiti representing Steve Jobs, founder and late CEO of Apple, by elusive British artist Banksy at the migrant camp known as the "Jungle" in Calais, northern France.
This picture taken on December 12, 2015 shows a street art graffiti representing Steve Jobs, founder and late CEO of Apple, by elusive British artist Banksy at the migrant camp known as the "Jungle" in Calais, northern France.Philippe Huguen—AFP/Getty Images
By Tara John

Scientists have used geographic profiling, which was developed to find serial criminals and terrorists, to confirm the identify the secretive graffiti artist Banksy.

According to Sky News, scientists at Queen Mary University of London looked at the spatial pattern of the artist’s works in both London and Bristol, U.K., to back a previously published theory identifying him as Robin Gunningham.

Geographic profiling has also been used to trace the source of disease outbreaks.

Gunningham’s identity was initially revealed in a 2008 Mail on Sunday story. According to the Economist, researchers gathered 140 locations of his works and found a bar, playing fields and a residential address in Bristol as well as three London addresses that were all associated with Gunningham.

Their findings have been published in the Journal of Spatial Science.

[Sky, Economist]

 

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