Contents From pins to computers Ancient history: Cartography and crime mapping Mapping as a special case of data visualization Mapping as art and science Maps as abstractions of reality: Benefits and costs Crime incidents: Measuring time and space Map projection Coordinate systems Map elements: The usual bits and pieces Types of map information Scale Maps of crime: Thematic maps Data, maps, and patterns Other theoretical perspectives A note on cartograms Reminder: Information is inevitably lost in the process of abstraction A note on the maps in this guide Summary Notes