Security

Naples, lack of direction to fight juvenile crime

Numerous forces in the field, mainly from the third sector, but no coordination

by Vera Viola

18 December 2024

Napoli, manca una regia per combattere la criminalità minorile (Adobe stock)

4' min read

Key points

Manfredi calls for a quantum leap
School dropout record
De Vitia (Confindustria): 'old, unresolved problems emerge'

4' min read

We need 'resources and tools to work on prevention', we need 'strong coordination and collaboration between public and private', we need an army of 'educators and social workers'. These are the recipes indicated by operators of the third sector, institutions, entrepreneurs and civil society to combat the juvenile crime that has exploded for months on the streets of the metropolitan area of Naples: a front on the alert, but still divided and without direction. And which so far has not produced a significant reaction.

Three murders in a few weeks and a 17% increase in crimes committed by minors in the judicial district of Naples by 2023. With young people involved, even in top positions, in organised crime or in baby gangs. A phenomenon that has prompted the Prefect of Naples, Michele di Bari, to launch an appeal that is also an indictment: "The city must respond _ he said _ We need to regain possession of the function of educating, of recovering values. Each of us must have the will to tackle these issues'.

Manfredi calls for a quantum leap

Mayor Gaetano Manfredi, in turn, launches a challenge: 'We need a quantum leap in this fight,' he says, 'social workers must be on the streets not doing paperwork, the autonomy of school leaders must be checked because each school does as it pleases, the projects of the various institutions must be coordinated.

479 new State Police and Carabinieri units will arrive from the government, in addition to the 741 operators already allocated this year. As for video surveillance systems, 300 new cameras will be provided. "There is an accessible and low-cost market for weapons: this is where we must immediately intervene forcefully _ says Isaia Sales, essayist and lecturer on the history of mafias _ this is an emergency". But Manfredi adds: 'Our focus must be on prevention. Without the necessary tools and resources,' he says, 'it becomes difficult to intervene. New structural and stable solutions must be adopted'.

Record school dropout

The numbers of early school leavers remain alarming. Between September 2023 and January 2024, more than 800 pupils never attended school, more than 7,000 pupils were absent between 25 and 50 per cent of school days, and more than 1,700 pupils exceeded 50 per cent, according to the Court of Appeal of Naples.

De Vitia (Confindustria): 'old unresolved problems emerge'

There is alarm in the business world. Emilio De Vitia, president of Confindustria Campania, is clear: 'Just now that Naples and Campania are among the most popular destinations for international tourism, now that the economy is growing and so is employment, that important milestones are being reached in innovation and with our ports, right now, old problems are re-exploding that threaten to take the region backwards'. For De Vitia, the lack of work is no longer an alibi.

"Enterprises have difficulty finding young people to hire. There is a segment of young people who are not training and looking for work. We should target our efforts at these. I think that insisting on training can be a useful path. The 'its' is a very good tool for recovering young people to enter the labour market'.

Prezioso: 'let's play the public-private partnership card'

Ambrogio Prezioso, founder of the Associazione Est(ra)Moenia, is the inspiration behind a new project for the social redevelopment of Piazza Garibaldi. "It was not easy _ he says _ but we managed to put together a very broad public-private partnership drawing on different skills. We hope to create the conditions to improve the quality of life, which is the only chance to recover young people and families as well'.

Attention of the institutions and rapidity of response are the requests of Armando De Nigris, promoter of an initiative to bring home work to the Green Park of Caivano. 'We have asked for a meeting with the ministry to define the legal framework of this type of employment relationship. The companies have been ready to start for some time now'.

The city, especially in its most difficult areas, is teeming with Third Sector initiatives, positive experiences with a history of more than twenty years that have transformed the face of some neighbourhoods, a happy example being the Sanità district. But the new emergency calls for new strategies. Enzo Porzio of the La Paranza cooperative (which manages the Catacombs of San Gennaro and San Gaudioso with about 70 young people involved) says it clearly: "We have been working in the Sanità for 20 years and have achieved great results. But that is not enough. We need an army of social workers and educators.

And it is necessary that these can work with the institutions at their side. We often work alone and with great difficulty. Our interventions, if not supported by the institutions, are precarious'. Porzio makes some proposals: 'The third sector _ he says _ must enter schools and collaborate with teachers'. Stefano Consiglio, head of the Fondazione Con il Sud, which has been working for many years in numerous neighbourhoods in the Naples area, is also convinced of this. "We must not leave the school alone. All efforts must converge towards the educational community'.

There are those who call for a strategic plan to combat juvenile crime. Those who call for the table already set up at the Prefecture to become structural and meet more frequently. Council calls for the Court of Auditors to also take part in order to reassure civil servants who are often afraid of being challenged. "University, school, judiciary, police, municipality, metropolitan city, enterprises and third sector _ concludes Stefano Consiglio _ let's coordinate against the new emergency".