From the preventive detention of the Maranza family to all the government’s security crackdowns under Meloni
The first decree was issued following the unauthorised rave party in Modena in October 2022. Subsequently, Palazzo Chigi took action in a number of other areas, ranging from demonstrations to youth gangs, as well as migrant smuggling and knives in schools
According to reports from the summit held on 19 October at Palazzo Chigi, the government’s response to the devastation and looting that have resulted from the demonstrations of recent days will be ‘firm’. One of the options under consideration is the introduction of a new anti-violence decree. This would be the latest in a long series of security measures introduced by the government led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. Since taking office in October 2022, the government has, in fact, introduced a flood of decree-laws focusing on a variety of areas, from rave parties to street demonstrations, from youth gangs to knives in schools. And that is not all. The government has also passed two bills, introduced nearly 60 new offences and put in place numerous measures to protect the police.
The anti-rave law
The government’s first action on security matters came just a few days after the start of the new parliamentary term. The catalyst was an unauthorised rave party held from 29 to 31 October in an abandoned warehouse north of Modena, which had forced the police to disperse the nearly 5,000 young people who had gathered there.
The government responded harshly by introducing, via an ad hoc decree-law, Article 633-bis into the Criminal Code, which punishes anyone who organises or promotes the unlawful occupation of land or buildings belonging to others, whether public or private, in order to organise music festivals or other events, where this results in a genuine danger to public health or safety due to failure to comply with regulations concerning drugs, safety or hygiene. The measure introduces fines ranging from one thousand to ten thousand euros and provides for penalties such as imprisonment for a term of three to six years.
The Cutro Decree
Ever since the anti-rave decree, the government has continued to intervene frequently in matters of public safety, often taking remedial action only after serious incidents have occurred. This was the case with the Cutro tragedy, in the province of Crotone, where in February 2023 a boat sank, claiming more than 90 lives, including over 30 minors, causing a national outcry and bringing the issue of immigration back to the forefront of public debate.
On 10 March, Meloni responded to the emergency with a new decree-law to tackle migrant smuggling, increasing penalties for facilitating illegal immigration and imposing harsher penalties for the illegal transport of migrants.
