From school to the streets, the local police build trust to detect risks before they turn into delinquency
Abstract: Juvenile crime in Italy is on the rise and is increasingly concentrated in large metropolitan areas, with more than 38,000 minors reported or arrested in 2024. Educational poverty, social distress and the misuse of social media fuel the phenomenon of baby gangs, while digital offences against minors are also growing. Faced with this emergency, repression alone is not enough: prevention, listening and proximity are needed. The experience of the Local Police of Massa shows that civic education and early dialogue with young people can become effective tools for security and social inclusion.
Keywords: #JuvenileCrime #BabyGangs #OffencesByMinors #UrbanSecurity #YouthPrevention #YouthDistress #EducationalPoverty #CivicEducation #SocialInclusion #LocalPolice #LauraCrapanzano #EthicaSocietas #ScientificJournal #ethicasocietasjournal #scientificjournal #ethicasocietasupli
A Growing Phenomenon
Juvenile crime in Italy is showing signs of growth and a strong concentration in metropolitan areas.
According to the latest edition of the Crime Index (based on reports per 100,000 inhabitants), in 2024 reported offences reached 2.38 million, an increase of 1.7% compared to 2023.
Almost half of all crimes (47.9%) are concentrated in the 14 metropolitan cities, and in particular in the three areas of Milan, Florence and Rome, which together account for 23.5% of all offences nationwide. Florence, in particular, has overtaken Rome, moving into second place. Bologna, Rimini and Turin follow.
Crimes Committed by Minors: A Worrying Picture
In 2024 the police reported 38,247 minors between those charged and arrested, an increase of 16% compared to 2023 and of around 30% compared to the pre-Covid period.
One alarming figure: one in four people arrested for street robbery is a minor.
The impact of the so-called baby gangs on predatory crimes – such as snatch thefts, muggings and robberies – has now become a structural phenomenon in urban areas.
The Most Exposed Cities
Milan confirms itself as the province with the highest incidence of crime, with 6,952 reports per 100,000 inhabitants.
Florence records an increase of 7.4% compared to 2023, reaching levels not seen since 2007.
Rome grows by 5.9% year on year and by 23% compared to 2019.
The major cities, which are daily destinations for commuters and tourists, increase “criminal opportunities” linked to transport, commercial areas and nightlife.
Crimes Against Minors and Digital Criminality
For the first time, in 2024 crimes against minors exceeded the threshold of 7,000 reports (7,204, +4% compared to 2023; +35% compared to ten years ago).
Particularly worrying is the increase in cases of child pornography and possession of child abuse material, a sign of a malaise that manifests itself online and then spills over into public spaces.
The Causes: Educational Poverty, Distress and Emulation
Experts agree on several recurring causes: educational gaps, school dropout, material and cultural poverty, and the distorted use of social networks, which foster emulation and the construction of status through deviant behaviour.
The most common profiles, according to ministerial reports, are male groups aged between 15 and 17, bound by pack dynamics and power rituals typical of baby gangs.
Prevention and Proximity: The Key to the Response
Repression alone is not enough. Law 70/2024 on bullying and cyberbullying and the guidelines of the Ministry of Education and Merit (MIM) encourage close cooperation between schools and law enforcement agencies, including the Local Police, for activities of civic education, prevention and conflict management.
The 2025 operational notes call for the creation of anti-bullying teams, integrated prevention plans and greater involvement of local police forces.
From North to South, meetings in schools held by Local Police officers are multiplying, addressing topics such as bullying, urban safety and the responsible use of social media.
A significant example comes from Sesto San Giovanni (MI), where – after episodes of robberies and beatings – local officers run awareness programmes aimed at intercepting at-risk groups at an early stage.
Similar indications appear in regional handbooks on the “community policing model”.
Why the Local Police Make a Difference
- Proximity: direct knowledge of schools, families and gathering places, enabling timely intervention.
- Continuity: daily presence in the area – bus stops, parks, shopping centres, nightlife districts.
- Education and enforcement: activities that combine prevention, listening and sanction, with referral to social services when necessary.
- Local network: constant collaboration with school principals, social workers, counselling centres, child and adolescent neuropsychiatrists, prefectures and police headquarters, within the framework of territorial agreements against youth distress.
The Virtuous Model of Massa
A positive example comes from Massa (Tuscany), where as early as 2015, on the initiative of some Local Police officers – including the authors of this project – a permanent working group was set up with schools, social services, counselling centres and the Prefecture.
The aim was twofold: to educate young people to respect institutions and to manage cases of juvenile petty crime in a transparent and appropriate way.
Over time, this collaboration has turned into a genuine network of trust, which has made officers points of reference for many students. “We discovered that several young people confided in us, sharing family and personal problems. In many cases we moved from simple police interventions to listening and prevention work, preventing distress from evolving into deviance.”
The initiative also brought to light hidden phenomena such as bullying and self-harm, particularly among girls who were isolated or under social pressure. “We realised that many of these young people were not deviant by nature, but victims of loneliness, bullying or emotional fragility. Our presence was, for them, the first real contact of trust with an adult.”
A Replicable Model
The experience of Massa is now seen as a replicable model of proximity policing, based more on listening, education and prevention than on purely repressive control.
In light of the increase in juvenile crime, more and more commands are considering similar protocols, in the belief that early prevention is the most effective way to break the spiral of deviance and restore young people’s trust in institutions.
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