Despite what you hear about the Mafia, most of the crime you're
likely to come across in Italy is of the small-time variety, prevalent
in the major cities and the south of the country, where gangs of
scippatori or "snatchers" operate. Crowded streets or markets and packed
tourist sights are the places to be wary of; scippatori work on foot or
on scooters, disappearing before you've had time to react. As well as
handbags, they whip wallets, tear off visible jewellery and, if they're
really adroit, unstrap watches.
You can minimize the risk of this happening by being discreet: don't
flash anything of value, keep a firm hand on your camera, and carry
shoulderbags, as Italian women do, slung across your body. It's a good
idea, too, to entrust money and credit cards to hotel managers. Never
leave anything valuable in your car, and try to park in car parks on
well-lit, well-used streets. On the whole it's common sense to avoid
badly lit areas completely at night and deserted inner-city areas by day.
Confronted with a robber, your best bet is to submit meekly: it's an
excitable situation where panic can lead to violence - though very few
tourists see anything of this.
Emergencies
For help in an emergency , call one of the following national emergency
telephone numbers.
tel 112 for the police (Carabinieri).
tel 113 for any emergency service, including ambulance (Soccorso
Pubblico di Emergenza).
tel 115 for the fire brigade (Vigili del Fuoco).
tel 116 for road assistance (Soccorso Stradale).
tel 118 for an ambulance (Ambulanza)
The police
If the worst happens, you'll be forced to have some dealings with the
police. In Italy these come in many forms, their power split ostensibly
to prevent any seizure of power. You're not likely to have much contact
with the Guardia di Finanza , responsible for investigating smuggling,
tax evasion and other finance-related felonies; and the Vigili Urbani ,
or town police, are mainly concerned with directing the traffic and
punishing parking offences; while the Polizia Stradale patrol motorways.
You may, however, have dealings with the Carabinieri , with their
military-style uniforms and white shoulder belts, who deal with general
crime, public order and drug control. These are the ones Italians are
most rude about, but a lot of jokes concerning their supposed stupidity
stem from the usual north-south prejudice. The Carabinieri tend to come
from southern Italy - joining the police is one way to escape the
poverty trap - and they are posted away from home so as to be well out
of the sphere of influence of their families. The Polizia Statale , the
other general crime-fighting force, enjoy a fierce rivalry with the
Carabinieri and are the ones you'll perhaps have most chance of coming
into contact with, since thefts should be reported to them. You'll find
the address of the Questura or police station in the local telephone
directory (in smaller places it may be just a local commissariato ), and
we've included details in the major city listings. The Questura is also
where you're supposed to go to obtain a permesso di soggiorno if you're
staying for any length of time, or a visa extension if you require one .
In any brush with the authorities, your experience will depend on the
individuals you're dealing with. Apart from topless bathing (permitted,
but don't try anything more daring) and camping rough , don't expect a
soft touch if you're picked up for any offence, especially if it's drugs
related. Drugs are generally frowned upon by everyone above a certain
age, and universal hysteria about la droga , fuelled by the serious
problem of heroin addiction all over Italy, means that any distinction
between the "hard" and "soft" variety has become blurred. Theoretically
everything is illegal above the possession of a few grams of cannabis or
marijuana "for personal use", though there's no agreed definition of
what this means and you can expect at least a fine for this. In general
the south of Italy is more intolerant than the north, and in any case,
if found with suspicious substances you can be kept in jail for as long
as it takes for them to analyse the stuff, draw up reports and wait for
the bureaucratic wheels to grind - which could be several weeks and
sometimes months.
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