Fraud, damage and theft. Instead of improving, Friuli Venezia Giulia is getting worse in this field. And the controversy over reception returns, based on the incidence of the foreign population in the total calculation of crimes. It is an alarming picture, the one dissected in the regional commission. A snapshot that speaks of a less safe region, with more crimes even compared to 2022, the last year taken into consideration before the current numbers. The report was then used by the Region to determine the share of funding to be allocated to the individual territories.
THE NUMBERS
We start from data covering the entire region. Both crimes in general and thefts are clearly increasing. And it’s not just for a more widespread attention on the territory. They are “raw” data. Crimes in general, for example, went from 33,305 in 2021 to 35,209 last year. The situation is even worse with regards to thefts, which went from 9,895 in 2021 to 13,060 last year. More than one crime in three is essentially represented by theft, with the typologies varying. We then move on to the in-depth analysis that specifically concerns predatory crimes. Home burglaries, for example, rose from 2,163 to 3,458. Those targeting parked cars are also growing, rising from 961 in 2021 to 1,513 last year. Bars and shops were also taxed, with 972 thefts in 2023 compared to 768 in 2021. Thefts are increasing in the provinces of Trieste, Udine and Pordenone, while in the province of Gorizia the figure is slightly decreasing. The increase in the number of crimes of robberies, scams, computer fraud and damage is evident in the four provinces, while the overall data relating to drugs and sexual violence are essentially stable compared to the previous year, remaining crimes that cause considerable social alarm.
THE DETAILS
Then there is another focus, which in this case concerns other types of crime that are increasingly widespread in Friuli Venezia Giulia. For example, we move on to scams and computer fraud, which in the province of Pordenone increased by around 200 cases in just one year, i.e. from 2022 to 2023. On the other hand, there are almost three hundred more comparable cases in the province of Udine. And more damage. Acts of vandalism are now part of everyday life in the large centers of Friuli Venezia Giulia. In Pordenone and its province, the incidents certified in 2023 were 623, while in 2021 they stopped at 448. The situation in the province of Udine is also serious, with 1,239 incidents of damage in just one year and a clear growth. Robberies are also becoming scary again, with more than 300 in Friuli Venezia Giulia last year across the entire regional territory.
THE CONTROVERSY
«End of the narrative of the Fvg isola happy. There is no point in insisting on the story of perception, the issue of safety is real and tremendously current. The data that emerged yesterday during the fifth commission in the Regional Council are alarming. From a security point of view, we have been on the path to decline for some time now, but there is still time to put a stop to it before the situation becomes irreversible.” Thus Roberto Novelli, regional councilor of Forza Italia, according to which «the beatification of unaccompanied foreign minors by a certain left is part of an ideological vision that completely lacks objectivity». Novelli announces a motion to ask the central government for more resources and more men and argues thus: «There are groups of profoundly disrespectful, aggressive and violent young people who impose a stance characterized by severity».
