Mechanisms to Fight Serious Forms of Organized Crime in Italy

Introduction

Safety in Italy has been a challenge in Italy. Organized crimes range from corporate crime, Neapolitan Camorra and mafia. The violence is sometimes racial and affects Italian citizens. In major cities where people are overcrowding and at parking lot, crimes such as pick pocketing and handbag snatching. Other overcrowded places include the bus stop and railway station in public places. Thieves in the streets work in groups of two or more people. Some pose as beggars and as good Samaritans who are willing to assist.

Carjacking and theft of small things at the car park, traffic lights stop or when traffic is slow. Some of the criminals inform you that you have a flat tire and in the process their counterparts steal from your car¹⁴. Rape reports are common where most victims report being alone in the streets.

Reports of terrorism in other parts of the world have caused Italy to heighten security measures and deployment. Some of the criminals use a razor to make a slit at the bottom of a hand bag and empty the contents when in public transport. Another form of crime is corruption and bribery involving the politicians and government officials²⁵.

Mechanisms to fight forms of crime in Italy

Organized crimes occur when three or more persons in structured groups engage in a serious crime (s) or offences to obtain financial or material benefits as a result. This part will focus on how the organized crimes could be dealt with, referring to the concept of rule of law, the changes introduced to the inquisitorial criminal justice system in Italy and the rule of law enforcement agencies in the fight against Mafia.

The role of rule of law in fighting organized crimes

According to Tamanaha, the constitutional court terminated immunity granted to highest government officials³⁴. The immunity protects the highest level from malice related to politics. In Italy the rule of law is applied within a specified time. Consequently, politicians seeking to clear their names when implicated in crime tend to facilitate the court process to clear their name³⁷. The constitutions state that the law applies to all citizens equally.

Concept of rule of law refers to the application of the legal framework as stipulated by the government. It dictates the acceptable contact within a specified region and should apply to all citizens with the specific region. Law is considered supreme and is independent from the judiciary¹¹. The rule of law is associated with justice, fairness, protection, safeguarding of rights and punishment of offenders.

Sicilian Mafia is categorized as one of the criminal groups known for trafficking arms and radioactive materials. They are also involved in drug deals, drug trafficking and money laundering³. It is organized and highly structured. A devastating revelation in the fight against organized crime is the role of politics in the fight against crime.

Laws regulating criminal behavior either directly or indirectly have been implemented. The laws address local and international crimes committed by the mafia. Anti-mafia law was introduced in 1982 following General Chiesa assassination. The law described the activities of the group as unlawful.

The group manipulated public authorities to control and gain favor from the activities of the organizations. The law gave the government official the authority to fight against the activities of the group. Stern actions against money laundering and collaborations with government officers have been taken in into account. Kidnapping, robbery and extortion for monetary gain were announced illegal in 1990 through a Penal code (Commanding Heights 2007).

Laws that adjust financial organization transaction, regulate exchange of information and limit the use of cash in transactions have been adopted. Reinvestment of money obtained illegally was considered unlawful. In 1991, prisoners convicted for committing serious crimes were prevented from obtaining limited liberty. The objective of enacting the laws was to discourage criminal operations in Italy as well as across the borders (United Nations, 2007).

The role of law enforcement agencies in the fight against Mafia

There have been major policies put in place to fight Mafia and other organized crimes in Italy. Since 1990s, policy making and law enforcement communities have played a significant role in the fight against mafia. Following the success of these law enforcement communities, the major organized crimes like Sicilian Cosa Nostra were put in serious crisis but more need to be done since the organized crimes are still taking place³⁶.

For the last over 15 years, there has been tremendous in dealing the organized crimes in Italy. The first part of 1990s reported witnessed great success in the fight against organized crimes. This success is however not recognized and therefore the conclusion is made that the anti-mafia fight slowed down in the period. The most members of law enforcement communities, the NGOs fighting against mafia and other stakeholders felt that the anti-mafia fight has weakened and slowed down from mid-1990s⁶.

This portrayed the mafia organizations as being very powerful. The judicial fight against the mafia did not win popular and political support. However, there are some anti mafia policies which are that are implemented by the criminal justice system. They provide for the criminal procedural law that is used in dealing in organized crime cases and they became popular in the 21^st century.

These policies empowered the anti mafia actions carried out by police forces, prosecutors and courts in the attempt to curb the crime. The substantial law enforcement achievements of these law enforcement groups were facilitated by a stable legislative and institutional policy framework that was instituted to curb mafia and organized crimes. The legislative and institutions innovations that took place in 1990s played a great role in this success.

For instance, there was a formal policy, referred to as collaboratori e testimony giustizia which evidenced the reality of the fight against organized crimes⁷. This policy was meant to provide the witnesses of organized crimes the required protection during and after witnessing. The defectors from organized crimes are also given special sanctioning and penitentiary benefits due to providing an avenue to end organized crimes⁷. The financial assistance was also made available to them and they could also change identity area of residence with assistance.

The bill also included a policy called Servizio Centrale di Protezione which was meant to provide security to the witnesses and also ensure they have eventual custody where necessary⁸.

Another major institutional innovation the Direzione Investigative Antimafia which was meant to ensure there is no fierce competition among the police forces which would hamper the operations and the implementation of the policies. This policy was introduced in 1991 by the decree law No. 345/1991.

Another policy was DIA staff whose main aim was to ensure that the intelligence activities that targets organized crimes are well coordinated and implemented so that investigations are conducted effectively concerning mafia and their related felonies. It, however, did not achieve the goal it was initially intended to achieve. The opposition of the other police forces (Polizia di Stato, Arma dei Carabinieri and Guardia di Finanza) rendered it impossible for DIA to perform its duties. It has, as a result, become a competitor in the overcrowded law enforcement area³².

The other innovation is veritable emergency measures which only existed initially as a decree law. It was later converted into law in 1992 august. This bill gave more responsibilities to DIA and judiciary police in gathering more information regarding the organized crimes. It would also determine the procedure to be employed during anti mafia trials.

The bill had another provision that was meant to provide the detention system for the leaders of Mafia associations. The early 1990s marked the outset of indirect anti mafia policies that were not directly linked to the procedural criminal law but their nature was that of administrative and civil law⁵.

The enforcement agencies are supported by the law to take measures against the unlawful group. The laws and measures are introduced when one of the significant government officials or a massacre has occurred. The legal system has not been capable of preventing and controlling the mafia from committing serious crimes. The mafia is armed and uses non recognized private means of committing crime.

People are called for to maintain their safety by taking responsibility of their belonging and contact. People should avoid carrying their wallet of valuable such as expensive cameras visibly¹ (Aymard & Giarrizzo).

Women can carry their bags under their arms with the side that opens facing the body. Money, credit cards, legal documents for traveling, contacts and valuables should be kept in different places⁹. Drivers should lock the car with the central lock and keep the valuable belonging out of sight. When touring, it is important to observe the Italian law as well as the culture. People are advised not to be in possession of illegal drugs²⁶.

Observing the culture by avoiding nudity, taking photos during the mass and being observant in the catholic dominated region. Women should not walk alone in isolated places. When not sure, one should ask what places are desolate then avoid them. Being prepared and confident is important.

The changes introduced to the inquisitorial criminal justice system in Italy and the fight against rule organized crimes

The Criminal Code that is in place in Italy, referred to as Rocco Code, was made in 1930 and has been undergoing serious changes ever since²⁹. It is one of the codes of European countries that were greatly inspired by Napoleonic that had gained prominence in 1810 and the Code of Williams of 1870¹⁶.

For authoritarian countries, the code was considered very severe and therefore, some changes had to be made. The death sentence was initially abandoned by Criminal Code of 1889 but was reintroduced in 1926, thus making the Rocco Code very severe¹⁰. The criminal justice system of Italy has for a long time used inquisitorial procedural model in dealing with organized crimes².

From early 19^th century, the criminal procedure in Italy was run using the using a French model known as the 1808 French code d’instruction criminelle. It was not until 1865 that Italy was able to launch the first code of criminal procedure that they were supposed to use when dealing with crimes in the country. Later, in 1913, another code was promulgated. The two codes drew a lot from the Napoleonic code²⁷.

Although both Codes were influenced by the Napoleonic code, the 1913 code was the one that was greatly influenced. Using this code, proceedings for any crime were done in two distinct phases. The initial stage was known as the ‘investigative stage’ also known as ‘instruzione’¹². The stage that followed this was known as the trial stage or ‘dibattimento’¹³.

A lot of time was spent during the investigative stage. The judge who oversees the proceedings during the investigative stage is endowed with a lot of power²⁴. The public prosecutor is the one who recommends to the judge whether there is need for more investigation for the truth to be ascertained.

The investigative judge then listens to the witnesses and legal experts in the process of ascertaining the truth (Ministero dell’Interno 2005). It is also possible for the investigative judge to call the accused and question them concerning the case at hand. When all evidence gathered during this initial stage is documented in the investigative dossier, it would be presented to the trial judge for them to make a ruling³³. The ruling would be made based on the evidence that was gathered and documented during the first phase.

Initially, the defence was not allowed to take part in the investigative phase. However, this was changed in the 1970’2. The changes allowed the defence to participate in the investigative phase¹⁵. Therefore, the defence was able to challenge any information that they thought was inaccurate.

The reason why a lot of time was spent during the investigative phase was because it was the period when evidence was gathered and presented⁴. During the trial phase, it was not common for any additional evidence to be presented since all the available evidence was presented during the investigative phase.

The trial phase was used to give a ruling based on the available evidence. This means that the trial phase was normally shorter than the investigative phase. Even if witnesses would occasionally be called during the trial phase, they were merely going to confirm what was in the investigation dossier not to give new information³⁵. The inquisitorial profile of this system of justice was mainly based on the capacity of the trial judge to rely entirely on the investigative dossier.

This code continued to be used until 1988. There was a need for a new code to be promulgated and the 1930 code to be discarded¹⁷. This was because despite the many amendments that it had undergone, it was still found to have some flaws especially due to its inquisitorial nature.

From the inquisitorial system, Italy adopted an accusatorial system of criminal justice. The difference between the two systems is brought about by the nature of the accuser. In the accusatorial system, the accuser is a private citizen while in the inquisitorial system; the accuser is a public officer. Moreover, an inquisitorial system is characterized by lack of distinction between the judge and the prosecutor¹⁸. However, most of the systems using the inquisitorial system no longer fail to distinguish between the prosecutor and the judge.

In the accusatorial process, there is a clear distinction between the investigative phase and the trial phase. This means that during the trial, the verdict is not passed based on only the information that was gathered during the investigative stage²³. Evidence is usually produced and presented in court for it to be discussed and analyzed in details. The Italian of 1930 was initially strictly inquisitorial but later changed to a system that was almost similar to accusatorial.

The process for reforming the criminal procedure started in 1960. Renowned scholars were involved in this process. The initial reform code was written in 1978. However, it was not implemented. The second reform code was drafted in 1988¹⁹. This time, the code was successful and was implemented. This code came with a lot of revolution.

It was influenced by the adversarial system practised in Anglo-American countries. Some of the revolutions that were brought include the removal of the investigative judge, there was to be a preliminary inquiry that was to be conducted by the two parties, a cross examination during trial and presentation of evidence was a must and the judge was not allowed to introduce evidence during trial. These were just some of the changes introduced to the old system.

The trial phase was also made distinct from the phase of preliminary investigation. To prevent the judge from being biased in their ruling, the results of preliminary investigations were not presented during trial. Investigative files as well as narration by those conducting the investigations in a case were not allowed during the trial²⁰.

The separation of the trial phase from the investigation phase ensured that no investigative files were present during the trial. Moreover, the police were not allowed to present their testimony, particularly concerning their findings during the investigative phase, at the trial. After the investigations are over, the prosecutor is allowed to file a charge.

The charge is carefully reviewed by a judge during preliminary hearings²¹. If the accused is sent to trial, the judge compiles the necessary information for the trial judge. The file compiled for the trial judge contains some of the information taken from the prosecutor’s files. This information is usually evidence that cannot be reproduced in court objectively. The preliminary judge therefore, collects only information that they are allowed by the code to access and compiles it for the trial judge.

Conclusion

The trial judge is prohibited from looking at the prosecutor’s files to avoid any bias during ruling. The 1988 code also allows for hearsay testimony to be produced in court by witnesses other than the police who were involved in the investigative phase³⁰. These restrictions helped in having a just ruling since the judge is isolated from any information that was collected during the investigative phase²². Therefore, the judge is forced to rely entirely on the evidence presented in court for them to make a ruling.

Reference List

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Footnotes

• ¹⁴ Knowital.com 2011, Italian police, the law, crime, and personal safety in Italy. Web.
• ²⁵ Miskimmon, A 2007, Rule of law upheld in Italy. Center for European Politics. Web.
• ³⁴ Tamanaha, B. Z 2004, On the Rule of Law: History, Politics, Theory, Cambridge University Press
• ³⁷ Weber, M, 1978, Economy and society, Berkeley, University of California Press.
• ¹¹ Fijnaut, C & Paoli, L 1999, Organised crime in Europe: Concepts, patterns and policies in the European Union and beyond (pp. 263–302), Dordrecht, Springer.
• ³ Becchi, A & Turvani, M 1993, Proibito? Il mercato mondiale della droga, Rome, Donzelli.
• ³⁶ United Nations 2007, What is the Rule of law United Nations Rule of Law. Web.
• ⁶ Cooray, D M 2011, The rule of law. Web.
• ⁷ Cordella, S 2006, Matteo Messina Denaro: il re di Trapani, Antimafia Duemila, 6(3), 7–10.
• ⁸ CPM (Commissione Parlamentare d’inchiesta sul fenomeno della mafia e sulle altre associazioni similari) 2000, Relazione sullo stato della lotta alla criminalità organizzata in Calabria, doc. XXIII, no. 42, XIII Legislature, Rome, Camera dei Deputati.
• ³² Pezzino, P1987, Stato violenza società. Nascita e sviluppo del paradigma mafioso. Turin, Einaudi.
• ⁵ Bolzoni, A & Lodato, S 1998, C’era una volta la lotta alla mafia, Milan, Garzanti.
• Commanding Heights 2007, Italy: rule of law. Web.
• ¹ Aymard, H & Giarrizzo, G, La Sicilia (pp. 905–984), Turin, Einaudi.
• ⁹ Cressey, D1969, Theft of the Nation, Harper and Row, New York.
• ²⁶ Paoli, L, 2002a, Italien. In M. Kilchling (Ed.), Die Praxis der Gewinnabschöpfung in Europa (pp. 239–295), Freiburg: Edition iuscrim.
• ²⁹ Paoli, L 2003, Mafia brotherhoods: Organized crime, Italian style, Oxford University Press, New York.
• ¹⁶ Lestingi, F 1884, L’associazione della Fratellanza nella provincia di Girgenti, Archivio dipsichiatria, antropologia criminale e scienze penali, 5, 452–463.
• ¹⁰ DIA (Direzione Investigativa Antimafia) 2007, Rilevazioni statistiche. Web.
• ² Scarpinato, R1992, ‘Mafia e politica’ in Mafia. Anatomia di un regime, Rome, Librerie Associate.
• ²⁷ Paoli, L 2002b, The paradoxes of organised crime: Crime, law and social change, 37(1), 51–97.
• ¹² Franchetti, L 1993, Condizioni politiche ed amministrative della Sicilia, Reprint, Rome: Donzelli.
• ¹³ HEUNI 2000, The European Institute for Crime Prevention and Control, affiliated with the United Nations, Criminal Justice Systems in Europe and North America, ITALY.
• ²⁴ Ministero dell’Interno 2006 Relazione semestrale sull’attività svolta e i risultati conseguitidalla Direzione Investigativa Antimafia nel secondo semestre del 2005.
• ³³ Svimez, J 2006, Rapporto 2006 sull’economia del Mezzogiorno – Sintesi, 11 July 2006.
• ¹⁵ La Spina, A 2004, The paradox of effectiveness: Growth, institutionalisation and evaluation of anti-mafia policies in Italy. In C. Fijnaut & L. Paoli (Eds.), Organised crime in Europe: Concepts, patterns and policies in the European Union and beyond (pp. 641–676). Dordrecht: Springer.
• 4 Bingham, T 2010, The Rule of Law, Allen Lane, London.
• ³⁵ Umberto, S 2003, Law Enforcement in Italy and Europe against mafia and organized crime. Web.
• ¹⁷ Lodato, S. (1999). Ho ucciso Giovanni Falcone. La confessione di Giovanni Brusca. Milan: Mondadori.
• ¹⁸ Lodato, S & Grasso, P 2001, La mafia invisibile. La nuova strategia di Cosa Nostra, Milan, Mondatori.
• ²³ Ministero dell’Interno 2001b, Relazione semestrale sull’attività svolta e i risultati conseguitidalla Direzione Investigativa Antimafia nel secondo semestre del 2000.
• ¹⁹ Loi, M 2006, In carcere il Gotha di Cosa Nostra: I pizzini di Provenzano svelano inuovi capi. Antimafia Duemila, 6(3), 2–6.
• ²⁰ Ministero dell’Interno1997, Relazione sui programmi di protezione, sulla loro efficacia e sulle modalità generali di applicazione per coloro che collaborano alla giustizia – II semestre1996.
• ²¹ Ministero dell’Interno 2000, Relazione semestrale sull’attività svolta e i risultati conseguitidalla Direzione Investigativa Antimafia nel secondo semestre del 1999.
• ³⁰ Paoli, L 2004, Organised crime in Italy: Mafia and illegal markets – Exception and normality.
• ²² Ministero dell’Interno 2001a, Rapporto sullo stato della sicurezza in Italia 2001.