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Italy's vigilantes
On the beat
Aug 13th 2009 | NAPLES
From The Economist print edition
Are the Mafia and the amateur police enemies or allies?
SPURRED on by the Northern League, many towns in northern Italy
have formed officially condoned vigilante groups, rules for which
took effect on August 8th. But Rome’s mayor believes that crime
and public order are best left to the police. And amateur law
enforcement by three-man platoons has been greeted even less
enthusiastically farther south. Most cities in Campania, of which
Naples is the capital, have decided that vigilantes will not patrol
their streets.
Illustration by Peter Schrank
However, Cipriano Cristiano, mayor of Casal di Principe, a town of
22,000 people a little north of Naples, hopes soon to have two
three-man teams in action. The vigilantes will report building and
garbage violations, and also illegal immigrants—a dangerous job if
done properly. The town and its surroundings are the Casalesi
clan’s turf. Growing rich on construction and clandestine waste
disposal, the clan won worldwide notoriety through the book and
film “Gomorra”. It lived up to its bloody name in September 2008
when a hit-squad gunned down six Africans in a nearby town, prompting the government to send in 500
soldiers.
Antonello Ardituro, one of an elite team of magistrates investigating the Casalesi, suggests that the clan
may place its men among the vigilantes, thus controlling its territory even more closely. “This is a town
where officials have colluded with the Mafia,” says Marco Del Gaudio, a colleague of Mr Ardituro. In a place
untroubled by badly-behaved adolescents, patrolling the streets is risky because so many people carry
guns. When Mr Cristiano discusses his plans with the police, they may agree with the magistrates. Where
organised crime holds sway (Mr Ardituro and Mr Del Gaudio lead the hunt for two of Italy’s most wanted
criminals), even the smallest crimes and misdemeanours should be a matter for professionals.
Copyright © 2009 The Economist Newspaper and The Economist Group. All rights reserved.
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