Meloni's government approves crackdown on juvenile crime after a spate of rapes, youth criminality
The right-wing government of Premier Giorgia Meloni has approved a decree to crack down on juvenile delinquency, allowing children as young as six to be arrested
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The right-wing government of Premier Giorgia Meloni on Thursday approved a decree to crack down on juvenile delinquency, allowing children as young as six to be arrested, following a spate of high-profile “baby gang” crimes that dominated headlines this summer.
The decree was adopted by the Cabinet a week after Meloni visited a crime-infested Naples suburb, where two girls were allegedly raped repeatedly by local youths. During the visit, Meloni promised to improve safety in the town of Caivano and to rehabilitate an abandoned, rundown sports complex where some of the alleged rapes occurred.
The decree includes funding for rehabilitation as well as a provision to name a special safety commissioner for Caivano, a Naples suburb rife with drug dealers and organized crime.
Meloni's government, which came to power last year, has sought to show it is tough on crime, making one of its first acts in office a decree to ban rave parties.