Security package, what is the criminal 'shield' and what would change for police officers
Many security meetings in the last few hours, after the clashes at the pro-Askatasuna rally in Turin
by Lorenzo Pace
An extended criminal 'shield', and not only for police officers, as was originally thought. Ahead of the Council of Ministers meeting on Thursday afternoon (at 5pm), the security measures coming in the decree, which, together with the bill, forms the so-called 'security package' that the government has been talking about - for weeks.
There have been several meetings since the clashes during the pro-Askatasuna demonstration in Turin, among them the one convened by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Monday morning. There is talk of confirmations, such as the tightening of knives, or possible adjustments, such as those on the criminal 'shield'.
What the criminal shield is
It is a measure that provides for the non-inclusion in the register of suspects in the presence of 'causes of justification' in the case of offences. The measure is designed for officers who, therefore, would not automatically be entered as suspects when acting in the performance of duty or in the lawful use of weapons.
The hypothesis - as in a bill by Fratelli d'Italia - is that, when a crime is committed and a cause for justification can be identified, the prosecutor must carry out preliminary investigations within seven days before proceeding, if strictly necessary, with registration.
The examples are present in the draft decree and are 'legitimate defence, fulfilment of a duty, legitimate use of weapons or state of necessity'. The public prosecutor, it is stated, acts 'by regulating the investigative activity in the presence of the aforementioned exculpatory grounds. Defence guarantees are ensured today as a result of inclusion in the aforementioned register'.
