April 26, 2024, 11:36 am
2 min read
PALERMO – A chase of over six kilometers along the streets of the center of Palermo which finally rewarded the State Police patrol who managed to stand up to the dangerous maneuvers of a car thief who had escaped using the stolen car.
From the stadium, up to the Admiral’s Bridge, trying to implement access bans and other unsuccessful expedients to try to cover their tracks. The phenomenon, however, is very widespread in the city. Exasperated citizens and even social groups asking for help.
“This is a difficult problem to dismantle – declared Giovanni Assenzio, provincial secretary of Uil Police Palermo –. The theft lasts just a few minutes, under the cover of “poles” positioned at strategic points. Furthermore, the data, processed by the Municipality of Palermo and the National Statistical System, confirm the forecasts already expressed by the Uil Police on an increase in such crimes in the city, especially after the pandemic”.
The latest findings relating to 2023 highlight, for the previous year, the maximum peak of car thefts in the Sicilian capital began in 2012. In fact, in 2022, 4,678 cars were stolen in Palermo, i.e. 61% more than in 2021; the latter year, which already recorded an increase of 20.4% compared to 2020.
According to the Uil Police this increase can only be linked to the particularly low numbers during the lockdown period and the management of the epidemic more generally.
It is also true, however, that the trend before Covid appeared to be declining since at least 2014 and only after the epidemic there was a peak that has not been compared for at least ten years. It must be said that Palermo is not among the top cities for the number of crimes, but taken individually, car theft presents a very different situation.
In fact, in 2022, 739.3 car thefts per 100,000 inhabitants were recorded in the Sicilian capital. This is more than ten cars stolen per day. Unfortunately, Palermo reflects the particularly low national percentage relating to the identification of those responsible.
Published on
April 26, 2024, 11:36 am
