England riots: where they happened and where the suspects lived

Did rioters commute in for the looting? That is a theory being explored by police and politicians. And as hundreds of suspected looters are pushed through the magistrates courts , what information does it tell us about how the events of those nights in early August unfolded? An analysis of one day's court hearings by BBC Newsnight last week found 70% of those accused of riot-related crimes had travelled from outside their area. Communities secretary Eric Pickles has called it "riot tourism", and it is part of the argument used by those who want to withdraw benefits and council housing from those accused of rioting, even in a different borough. Similarly, housing minister Grant Shapps said: If someone has travelled for those riots, then the fact you have committed it in the next-door borough or somewhere else should count equally We have analysed over 300 records of people on riot-related charges before English magistrates' courts to see where people lived and where the riots took place. The maps above show - for the major events that took place in August 2011 - the effect in each city. This is not a complete record - and is of alleged cases, some of whom pleaded not guilty. The other caveat is that it does not show which event each suspect is alleged to be part of. But it does show how people arrested and charged in the days following the riots came from all over the cities affected. The effect is particularly pronounced in Manchester, where suspects have been in court from the suburbs of the city. In London, there is a similar effect, although it seems to show people travelled, but not as far. Does it tell us anything - what do you think? • Contact us at [email protected] Key riot links • Interactive map of riot events • Riot events listed • The riots mapped with poverty • • List of riot-related cases before the magistrates courts More open data Data journalism and data visualisations from the Guardian World government data • Search the world's government data with our gateway Development and aid data • Search the world's global development data with our gateway Can you do something with this data? • Flickr Please post your visualisations and mash-ups on our Flickr group • Contact us at [email protected] • Get the A-Z of data • More at the Datastore directory • Follow us on Twitter • Like us on Facebook