«We need more men and cameras»

“It could have been worse. If the trajectory of the shot had been different, from bottom to top, we would have commented on something different today. Instead the girl is fine, she is very tired, still in shock, but clinically she is better.” The mayor of Sezze, Lidano Lucidi, does not hide his concern, who has been under pressure since Saturday because everyone’s eyes are on the town of Lepino where a gunshot fired in the night, after a fight between rival gangs, almost brought tragedy . The Sezze case thus comes to the attention of the Committee for Order and Security, convened by the prefect with the aim of taking stock and bringing the institutions together around a table to plan checks and prevention services. The person responsible was identified by the military: a 37-year-old foreign citizen already known in the news for his criminal record, who is actively sought. But the safety issue is in the foreground. The town has around 30 thousand inhabitants and no more than seven carabinieri guarding the territory. It is not enough, despite the fact that the data and statistics provide a more than positive picture in terms of repression of criminal phenomena.

Latina, beaches of the Gulf: unchanged prices and little investment, it is the summer of uncertainty

The situation

In addition to Sezze, what happened on the night between 25 and 26 April in Latina comes to the Committee’s attention: another gunshot fired in via Don Morosini apparently by two men who shortly before had shouted something at a group of foreigners. Also in this case, the intensive police investigations allowed us to take a step forward by excluding the xenophobic nature of the gesture. But in general the attention in the capital remains high also in other aspects, not least that relating to fights between children. «We have carried out an analysis on prevention and also discussed interventions on an operational level – explained the prefect Falco – We are almost at the finish line for the Sezze affair, while in Latina the fact that the xenophobic matrix has been excluded has reassured us. However, simply strengthening the response after the event has occurred is no longer sufficient. We need more effective prevention, we need more human resources in the police forces, it is something we continue to ask for even if the horizon of the Jubilee suggests that more Rome will attract resources in this respect”.

The first responses from the institutions, however, are not long in coming: yesterday evening the High Impact joint operation also began in Sezze, which has already periodically affected the capital and the municipalities of Fondi and Aprilia. In Latina, however, we need to focus on video surveillance and on a necessary strengthening of the local police. «We must try to optimize the ability of the cameras to tune in 24 hours a day with the police forces to allow quick interventions» points out the prefect, who adds on attacks between minors: «Please don’t call them baby gangs, because it would mean exalting a criminal potential whose 14 year olds have no awareness. We must reflect on the ability of families and schools to be educationally responsible. The problem cannot be entrusted solely to the repression of the police when it comes to minors.”

«A disturbing episode in Via Don Morosini – comments the mayor Matilde Celentano – which I considered necessary to discuss in a Committee for order and security. We constantly work in synergy with the prefecture and the police. There is no single solution, but video surveillance certainly represents an important deterrent alongside a strengthening of the currently understaffed municipal police.” The mayor of Sezze is of the same opinion: «Safety – he says – is a team result. We all work in the same direction. I have never hidden or underestimated this critical issue in my municipality, but the situation is not the one I have seen described in recent days.”

© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Read the full article at
The messenger