Crime in Italy

Crime in Italy happens in many different ways. The country is well-known for its organized crime groups, often called the Mafia. These groups are famous around the world and are involved in many illegal activities.

Because of this, financial crimes such as corruption, taking money by force, and stealing are very common in Italy. However, violent crimes, like hurting or harming others, are very rare. In 2021, Italy had a very low rate of serious violent crimes, lower than almost any other country in Europe. Only very small places like Vatican City and San Marino had fewer. This shows that Italy is a relatively safe place compared to many others.

Description

Overview

Italy has more police officers per person than many other European countries. However, crime can vary a lot between different parts of Italy. The south often sees more organized crime, while the north usually has less. Immigration has also played a role in changing crime patterns, with many newcomers living in the north.

Law Enforcement and Justice System

Italy works hard to keep its communities safe with several main police groups, including the Carabinieri, the State Police, and the Financial Guard. Recently, Italy made changes to its prisons to help inmates improve their lives after release. New rules give prison staff not just the job of keeping order, but also helping prisoners rebuild their lives.

Crime by type

Homicide and Assault

In the 1990s, the number of murders in Italy was between 1.4 and 2.8 for every 100,000 people. By the 2000s, this number went down to between 1.31 and 0.98 per 100,000 people. From 2010 to 2020, it dropped even more, to between 0.93 and 0.67 murders per 100,000 people. Over the last ten years, Italy has seen a big drop in murders, with the current rate at about 0.6 murders per 100,000 people. In one year, from August 2018 to July 2019, there were only 307 murders. The next year, from August 2020 to July 2021, there were 276 murders, showing a big decrease from before.

Organized crime

Organized crime has a big effect on life in Italy, with about 22% of people and 14.6% of the country’s money being touched by it. Some important leaders, like former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, have been looked at for possible links to organized crime groups.

There are four big organized crime groups that have been powerful in Italy for a long time: Cosa Nostra, Camorra, Apulian Organized Crime and 'Ndrangheta. The 'Ndrangheta has become the richest, dealing in drugs across Europe, Australia, Canada, and the USA. The Camorra has been known as the most violent, with more murders than the other groups together. These groups are famous around the world and affect many businesses and jobs.

There has been a big drop in murders linked to these groups. In 2020, there were only 28 murders tied to organized crime, much less than the average of 527 a year between 1988 and 1992. However, measuring how much these groups affect Italy is still hard, even though they are very important.

Financial Crime and Corruption

Main article: Corruption in Italy

Cheating and fraud are big problems in Italy, happening in many parts of the economy since the country started in 1861. Big examples include the Parmalat collapse in the early 2000s and the Lockheed bribery scandal in the 1970s.

A study in 2020 looked at Italy’s laws against corruption, especially Law n. 3 from January 9, 2019, known as the “bribe-destroyer law.” The study suggests that while making more laws against crime helps, it’s also important to improve ethics in public behavior. Just making more laws might not be enough to stop corruption.

Drug-Related Crimes

Italy is an important place for illegal drugs to enter Europe because of its location and the strong presence of organized crime. Drugs come from many places, like South America for cocaine, Southeast Asia and Afghanistan for heroin, and Europe for cannabis.

A survey in 2017 found that many Italians between 15 and 64 had tried illegal drugs at least once. Even so, Italy has fewer deaths from drug use each year than many other countries. In 2019, there were 374 deaths, and in 2020, there were 308, which is an improvement. Most of these deaths happened in Northern Italy (46.10%), some in Central Italy (27.27%), and the rest in Southern Italy and the islands (26.62%).

A study from 2013 to 2015 looked at new illegal drugs caught by police. It found that many of these drugs were sold online and did not have correct labels, showing the need for better rules and watching to keep people safe.

Crime by region

Southern Italy

Southern Italy has fewer overall crimes than Northern Italy. However, some areas like Campania, Sicily, Calabria, and nearby places often see unfair business practices and pressure from organized groups. Even though some northern cities also face these issues, places like Naples and parts of Calabria, Apulia, and Sardinia sometimes have more serious problems than northern cities.

Sicily

In Sicily, a well-known group has been part of the history of crime there. Movies sometimes show this in an exciting way, but most people, including tourists, are safe and unlikely to have any trouble. Violent crimes are very rare; the number of serious crimes in Sicily is one of the lowest in Italy and the world. However, some smaller crimes like cheating and stealing can happen. Many businesses in Sicily are pressured to pay extra money to these groups, which takes a lot from the economy.

Central and Northern Italy

Central and Northern Italy are often thought to be safer than the south by visitors. Recently, though, some northern cities like Milan, Florence, Turin, Genoa, and Rimini have had more crimes than before. Other areas such as Marche, Tuscany, Umbria, and Friuli Venezia Giulia have fewer crimes. The north usually has less unfair business pressure and cheating than the south.

Rome

Rome has a very low number of serious crimes, with just a small number per 100,000 people, which is still lower than many big cities in Europe. Like the rest of Italy, small crimes such as stealing and car theft happen more often than violent crimes.