Number of minors reported reaches new record: a quarter for street robberies
[Second headline displayed on the homepage] In 2025, 39,600 people, around 1,400 more than in 2024 (+34 per cent compared with pre-pandemic levels)
Since the pandemic, the number of minors reported to the authorities, detained or arrested has continued to rise, reaching a new record in 2025. The Ministry of the Interior recorded 39,600 minors reported to the authorities, around 1,400 more than in 2024. This figure accounts for just under 5 per cent of the total number of people reported to the authorities, though the trend has risen by 34 per cent since 2019.
As regards the types of offence, the incidence is highest for predatory crimes. Of the 10,986 people reported or arrested for street robberies, 2,837 are minors: this is the offence in which they are most frequently involved, accounting for 25.8 per cent of the total. This is followed by robbery, with 4,182 reports involving minors (18.1 per cent of the total number of individuals reported).
Sondrio tops the rankings for youth crime: 215 reports involving under-18s out of a total of 2,221, or 9.7 per cent, compared with a national average of 4.7 per cent. Modena comes second, with minors accounting for 8.3 per cent of the total number of people reported or arrested (841 out of 10,150). Lecco, Gorizia and Reggio Emilia are tied for third place with 7.7 per cent. At the bottom of the table is Crotone (1.7 per cent), preceded by Avellino and La Spezia, where minors account for 1.8 per cent of the total.
“In recent years, we have seen an increase in juvenile delinquency, which in some cases leads to criminal offences,” explains the mayor of Modena, Massimo Mezzetti. “The City Council, law enforcement agencies and the Prefecture are tackling this issue with great care and in close coordination. The increase in checks may also be a factor in these figures: the more closely the area is monitored, the greater the ability to detect illegal behaviour.”
The local authority has taken action by introducing a new role: school tutors, ‘staff from security firms who work in coordination with the local police, observe the dynamics amongst young people, intervene to prevent conflicts from escalating and, where necessary, call in the police’ in order to ‘be there before a situation gets out of hand’.
