Exploratory spatial data analysis methodologies (ESDA) have become popular and accessible in the last 20 years. Similarly to exploratory data analysis (EDA), ESDA methodologies focus on data and to their exploration/visualisation in order to find out what patterns/models can be found to better understand data. Many disciplines across social and hard sciences benefited from this new perspective on looking at spatial data, and criminology is no exception to that. Albeit the study of crime through the projection of forensic case data in the spatial dimension is still in its early stage, some examples pave an interesting way ahead.
This chapter briefly illustrates the characteristics of ESDA methodologies. Then it 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 an original prospect to the study of crime, they address future developments and emphasise the need to bridge together different disciplines in that endeavour.