Finding the real Father Christmas with stats

Householders are warned to watch out after a notorious serial burglar is supposedly active once again. This man, who can be easily identified by his bright red clothing and white beard, tends to strike around this time of year, and always leaves one or more signature calling cards in the form of objects wrapped in colourful paper. But what’s surprising is that sightings have come in from all over the world, suggesting he employs an army of decoys to get away with his crimes. Phil Sansom has been speaking to data scientist Raphael Sonabend, who, along with his fellow detective Bilal Mateen, has been trying to catch the real Father Christmas using statistics…