The growing number of violent youth gangs – so-called “baby gangs” – whose members can be as young as 12 years old, has recently drawn a lot of attention in Italy.
According to a study from the country’s Ministry of the Interior, the problem has increased in recent years – not least during the pandemic, when closed schools led to many young people losing daily contact with society.
The parents can be sentenced to prison
From the government’s side, they are now taking the hard gloves, and during the past week the Italian parliament approved the so-called Caivano decree. Under the new law, parents can be sentenced to prison if their child engages in repeated truancy. Minors can be sentenced to a stay ban, and have their mobile phones and computers confiscated.
The Caivano decree got its name after it was revealed this summer that two girls, the youngest just 10 years old, were repeatedly raped over a long period of time by a gang of young guys in a run-down Naples suburb of the same name.
The incident, which received huge media attention, was the trigger that led Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to present a draft of the law in September.
– Youth crime is spreading like an oil slick, said Meloni during a press conference.
A city that has been hit hard by the gangs’ progress is Naples, not least because the city’s mafia, the Camorra, has a history of recruiting children for their various activities. For example, drug sales in the city’s vulnerable areas and suburbs are mostly handled by young guys, who in this way hope to get an entry ticket to the criminal organization.
Sweden gets attention
The violent gang conflicts in Sweden in recent months have also been noticed in Italy. La Repubblica writes that gang wars have reached unprecedented levels.
But solving the gang problem also requires much more than the measures listed in the Caivano decree, according to Cesare Moreno, director of Maestri di Strada, which is an organization that organizes leisure activities for young people in Naples’ most vulnerable areas. Instead, more neighborhood police officers and a greater commitment from society are needed, according to him.
“Stronger exclusion in a country like Sweden”
In Naples, Maestri di Strada offers young people in vulnerable areas an alternative to a life of crime by giving them opportunities to create music or just socialize – far away from the harsh laws of the street.
And despite the fact that many people live in economic vulnerability, not everyone experiences exclusion, says Moreno.
– Our young people are used to being surrounded by poverty, but if you live instead in a well-functioning society, you feel more excluded, he says, referring to Sweden.
– I think that young people in the same situation can experience stronger exclusion in a country like Sweden.