New Year's Eve, prefect of Naples establishes 4 red zones

New Year's Eve tightening of city security, with red zones forbidden to 'dangerous subjects or those with criminal records'. The message to the prefects is therefore clear: it is important, all the more so on New Year's Eve, to identify 'red zones' with special ordinances in which to prohibit the presence of dangerous persons or persons with criminal records and thus order their immediate removal. In a directive sent by the Viminale to all the territorial government offices, Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi is pushing to extend to all cities an instrument that has been experimentally used in Florence and Bologna, and from Monday 30 December in Milan. In Naples, the prefect has established four red zones.

In the capitals of Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna, 105 out of 14,000 people checked in the last three months alone have received a removal order. This is why the Viminale is now urging their use elsewhere. The red zones - recalls the ministry - are part of the broader strategy of guaranteeing the protection of urban safety and the full usability of public spaces by citizens.

Red zone ordinances are considered particularly useful in contexts characterised by widespread crime and degraded conditions, such as railway stations and areas adjacent to nightlife venues, where episodes of petty crime, violence, vandalism and alcohol abuse often occur. But also in view of the New Year's Eve shows and concerts, for the Viminale, the enforcement of red zones can help to strengthen controls. And to celebrate the New Year in safety.

A meeting of the Provincial Committee for Public Order and Safety, chaired by Prefect Michele di Bari, was held on the morning of the 31st in the Prefecture of Naples in view of the end-of-year celebrations. The meeting was attended by the Municipal Police and Legality Councillor of the Municipality of Naples, Antonio De Iesu, the Quaestor Maurizio Agricola, the provincial commander of the Carabinieri Biagio Storniolo, the commander of the Naples Local Police Ciro Esposito, and representatives of the provincial Command of the Guardia di Finanza and the Italian Army. The various measures adopted were analysed in order to allow the orderly running of the end-of-year events, which will involve a greater influx of people in public places. In particular, an intensification of controls by the police was ordered, with the involvement of the local police in the urban areas with the highest concentration of businesses and in those where there is usually a greater movement of people, the so-called 'baretti' in Chiaia, the Vomero district and the historical centre, areas in which the Prefect has ordered the establishment of 'red zones' together with the area near the railway station in Piazza Garibaldi. Intensified control services have also been planned at ports, airports, railway stations and in areas particularly at risk, in order to prevent and combat criminal events.