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CRIME

Five ways to fight the mafia

Fearful of losing an uphill battle against the Italian mafia despite a ferocious 25-year fight, key figures in Italy's judiciary have called for anti-mafia hunters to think outside the box.

Published: 25 November 2017 09:31 CET
Five ways to fight the mafia
Rome prosecutor Giuseppe Pignatone has urged the government not to change the law on the mafia. Photo: Andreas Solaro/AFP

The legislation in place is harsh but effective — the problem is a “mafia culture” which has infected society, they say.

Here are five suggestions for winning the war:

Make ordinary citizens heroes

Pier Paolo Farina, a young sociologist and founder of the Wikimafia news site, said “all the mafia fight needs is for everyone to be aware of the issue and do their jobs,” from minor officials to political leaders.

“We no longer need heroes but citizens who do their duty and respect the laws because they are aware of the value of legality,” said Rosy Bindi, the head of parliament's anti-mafia committee.

Combat poverty

The mafia thrives by stepping in where the state is failing, offering security, employment, housing and even rubbish collection. New recruits in poor areas often feel a life in crime would give them a future the state cannot.

“As long as there is no Marshall Plan for the (poor) south,” there will be room for organised crime, Palermo prosecutor Roberto Scarpinato said.

Take the fight abroad

Italy's mafias have business ties everywhere there is a strong expat presence — from European countries to North and South America and Australia.

Prosecutor Nicola Gratteri said Italy must push for greater international coordination and draw up more bilateral agreements. “We signed one with Colombia, but you can not imagine what the 'Ndrangheta is doing in Peru.”

Rally the troops

Pietro Grasso, a longtime anti-mafia magistrate, called on Italy to draw on the network of anti-organised crime groups that have been valiantly drumming up resistance for the past 25 years and “which show that another way is possible”.

'Don't change laws'

“I would be grateful if this parliament and the next did not change the law on the mafia,” Rome prosecutor Giuseppe Pignatone told a major two-day conference on the fight against organised crime in Milan.

Prosecutors up and down the country fighting the 'Ndrangheta (based in Calabria in Italy's deep south), the Camorra (Naples), Cosa Nostra (Sicily) and Sacra Corona Unita (Puglia), say each tweak to the law slows their work, he said.

By Fanny Carrier

For members

CRIME

REVEALED: Where in Italy you’re most likely to be a victim of crime

From theft and home burglary to cyber fraud and extortion, the latest figures reveal where in Italy you are most likely to fall victim to crime and the most common types of offences in major cities around the country.

Published: 17 September 2024 11:15 CEST
REVEALED: Where in Italy you're most likely to be a victim of crime

While Italy is among the safest countries in the world – it ranked 33rd out of 163 in the latest Global Peace Index report, right above the UK – crime is still a concern, especially in metropolitan cities and tourist hotspots.

According to the annual crime report from newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore, which collated the most recent data from Italy’s Department of Public Security, Milan was the Italian city with the highest crime rate in 2023.

Overall, some 230,394 crimes were reported in the northern metropolis last year, which corresponded to 7,094 offences for every 100,000 residents.

Milan was followed by Italy’s capital, Rome, with 6,071 reported crimes for every 100,000 residents (up by nearly 600 compared to 2022) and Florence, with 6,053.

The top ten was completed by Rimini (6,002 reports for every 100,000 residents), Turin (5,685), Bologna (5,539), Prato (4,887), Imperia (4,838), Venice (4,825) and Livorno (4,743).

At the other end of the spectrum, Oristano, Sardinia, was the Italian city with the lowest crime rate in 2023 as it ‘only’ saw 1,511 offences for every 100,000 residents. 

Oristano was followed by Potenza, Basilicata (1,934) and Treviso, Veneto (2,258).

Single-offence rankings

While the overall crime rate ranking provides a picture of Italy’s major crime hotspots, it doesn’t allow for any insight into the types of offences committed locally, which is why it is worth looking into single-offence rankings. 

Milan, Rome and Rimini (a popular seaside resort on Emilia Romagna’s Adriatic coast) were the Italian cities with the highest theft rates in 2023, with the northern city registering nearly 3,900 reported thefts (furti) for every 100,000 residents and the capital stopping just shy of the 3,500 mark.

Milan was also Italy’s least-safe city when it came to petty theft and pickpocketing, with over 900 such offences reported for every 100,000 residents.

READ ALSO: How bad is pickpocketing in Italy’s major cities?

Florence was the Italian city with the highest robbery rate (rapine), with 136 offences for every 100,000 residents. 

The Tuscan city was followed by Milan (128) and Prato (124).

Outside of big cities and popular tourist destinations, a number of smaller and, perhaps, slightly unassuming Italian cities had their own crime ‘specialisations’ in 2023. 

For instance, Ragusa, Sicily, ranked first in vehicle theft, while Pisa, Tuscany, came in first in reported home burglary offences.

Trieste, Friuli Venezia Giulia, had the highest sexual assault rate (24 reports for every 100,000 residents) in the country, whereas Crotone ranked first for attempted murder.

READ ALSO: The 8 red flags to look out for to avoid rental scams in Italy

Turin came in first for cyber fraud and online scams, while Isernia, Molise, was Italy’s extortion capital. 

National picture

At a national level, reported crimes were up by 3.8 percent compared to 2022, with online fraud and robbery registering 10.3- and 9.5-percent increases respectively. 

Assault offences also registered a 3.1-percent year-on-year increase, while there were 341 murders in 2023 – up by 13 against 2019. 

According to Marco Dugato, a researcher at the Crime Observatory of Milan’s Cattolica University, the latest increases “must be monitored, particularly for certain types of crime”.

In particular, “the rise of more impulsive, less planned, but more aggressive forms of criminal activity” such as assault and robbery “is of concern”. 

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