Verification
Records differ in how strongly they are evidenced, and this site says so rather than presenting everything as equally established. A record documented by a police service is not the same thing as a single report awaiting assessment, and neither is a finding by a court.
Every record carries exactly one of the levels below. It is shown on the search table, on the record itself and in the map popup, it can be filtered on, and it is included in the JSON and CSV exports.
- Reported / Pending Review17 records→
Information has been received or identified, but assessment is not complete.
- Under Review0 records→
The incident is being actively assessed against its sources.
- Corroborated Incident9 records→
The core occurrence is supported by multiple independent, credible sources.
- Officially Recorded120,863 records→
Documented by police, a court, a government body, or another competent authority.
- Formal Determination0 records→
A court, tribunal, inquiry, or similar body has made a finding on the incident.
- Disputed0 records→
Material aspects of the incident or its interpretation are contested.
- Unable to Verify0 records→
Available information does not meet the verification threshold. This does not mean the incident did not occur.
- Removed / Withdrawn0 records→
Withdrawn from public presentation because of an error, a legal or privacy concern, or a retraction.
Two things this page does not claim
Unable to Verify does not mean nothing happened. It means the evidence available to the Observatory does not meet the threshold. Many real incidents are never documented well enough to clear it.
An evidence level is about the record, not the motive. Whether a motive is established, alleged or undetermined is recorded separately — see the ethics page and the methodology.