Lake Garda Mayors Boost Security with Cameras to Combat Rising Crime
Cameras to protect people, neighborhoods, productive activities, and public facilities from wrongdoers. This is the response that the mayors of some towns on Lake Garda are beginning to implement in order to address the increasing demand for safety coming from both residents and tourists.
An emergency and collective fear situation created by microcriminality, which no longer spares these towns characterized by a rich tourism and tertiary economy. Here, the business of the foreign industry is worth approximately 1,500 billion euros annually in revenue.
Drugs and prostitution are the two main areas of organized crime on Lake Garda, which has even led to shootouts between rival clans, beatings, and some homicides. Many arrests and seizures of drug shipments have also been carried out by law enforcement agencies.
Increase in crimes and authorities’ responses
However, what weighs heavily on the people is the constant escalation of minor crimes: house thefts, muggings, robberies, scams, and pickpocketing. The statistical data is very significant. In fact, only the Carabinieri station in Desenzano has received over 2,600 theft reports from January to July of this year.
And these are in addition to those received by the police commissariat and also include the number of crimes that were not reported. Another worrying trend is the theft of large-engine cars: in the 14 municipalities under the jurisdiction of the Carabinieri command in the area, there is an average of about 450 per year. Desenzano and Sirmione are the most affected.
In the first location, in May of this year, 20 car thefts were recorded, rising to 24 in June. “It’s the enormous distress that now grips the citizens that motivates us to seek new solutions,” explains Desenzano Mayor Felice Anelli, who leads a center-right coalition.
We have launched a program of interventions that includes the installation of five cameras and the activation of an operational center. The cost is 200 million euros, rising to 470 if considering the two linked security projects.
We considered video surveillance because microcriminality is increasing alarmingly.” The Lega Nord, through group leader Rino Polloni, even loudly demands the placement of cameras also in the towns’ districts.
Looking ahead: Cameras and collaboration between municipalities
Sirmione, meanwhile, plans to double the number of cameras: it already has some at the entrance to the historic center and in the main locations of the peninsula.
“In addition to the seven already operational, provided free of charge by the company contracted for the night security service,” — explains Mayor Maurizio Ferrari — “we will soon add another six.”
They will be placed at the ports of Lugana and Colombare, as well as on some private beaches, to combat vandals and thieves who loot boats and damage structures. We are responding to the specific needs of the citizens.”
To protect people’s privacy, the cameras in Sirmione are positioned at height, capturing faces from above to make them less recognizable. However, thanks to the cameras, two offenders who were previously registered in police databases have been recently caught.
An inter-municipal surveillance project also involves Padenghe and Pozzolengo, which have teamed up with Sirmione for joint management of the municipal police.
“Although law enforcement shows great commitment,” — say the mayors — “microcriminality still presents us with significant problems.” This opinion is shared by many other mayors in the Garda area, so much so that Regione Lombardia has been overwhelmed with funding requests following the enactment of Law No. 8 on regional interventions for municipal security.
And perhaps the 15 billion euros already allocated will not be enough.
