If there is no crime emergency you can make one. It's very interesting to see the data on real crimes committed in Italy and those on the television coverage that is given to them. The crime rate in Italy over the last twenty years is unchanged. Immigrants were half a million and now are 4 million, yet that hasn't created any actual increase in crime.
But Italian television told a different story. The evening news in the second half of 2006 dedicated to criminal episodes less than 2,000 services, in the second half of 2007 some 3500 services, in 2008 around 2500 while in the first half of 2009 less than 2000, although in all this whole period crime rate didn't changed significantly.
The differences are particularly evident on Tg1 and Tg5, which alone collected more than 60% of the public. In part this can be explained by a typical deformation of the journalists: if a tv speaks of a crime the others feel compelled to do the same. If nobody speaks of a crime then it falls into silence. It would be interesting to see these data by type of crime, as serious crimes made by the mafias in southern Italy are being systematically ignored, while many less serious crimes carried out by immigrants have received disproportionate media coverage. It does not take a genius to see that this way of giving the news has been functional for passing a criminal and useless law like the security decree and to aid Berlusconi to the electoral victories of 2001 and 2008. Now that the government is his instead crimes are systematically ignored because they are no more useful for political propaganda purposes.
Then there is another aspect of creeping racism shared by both the population by the media. Italians generally are indignant much more for a crime committed by foreigners than for the same crime committed by Italians. Emblematic the case of rapes, which are committed by the Italians at 90%, and by foreigners on Italian women assaulted in the street just in 1% of cases. Yet the only rape problem ever mentioned on italian TV is that of foreigners. This is obviously a ridiculous attitude. To the victim of a crime the birthplace of the criminal is not relevant. But it's useful to some politicians blame the aliens and use them as scapegoats, like Italy was the land of milk and honey before the immigrants. Instead, Italy had always crime, even when there were no immigrants, and what a crime!
Then there is another aspect of creeping racism shared by both the population by the media. Italians generally are indignant much more for a crime committed by foreigners than for the same crime committed by Italians. Emblematic the case of rapes, which are committed by the Italians at 90%, and by foreigners on Italian women assaulted in the street just in 1% of cases. Yet the only rape problem ever mentioned on italian TV is that of foreigners. This is obviously a ridiculous attitude. To the victim of a crime the birthplace of the criminal is not relevant. But it's useful to some politicians blame the aliens and use them as scapegoats, like Italy was the land of milk and honey before the immigrants. Instead, Italy had always crime, even when there were no immigrants, and what a crime!
The last real increase in average crime rate, and 90% of crimes are always thefts of various kinds, was in the late 80s and early 90s, and perhaps can be explained by the diffusion of objects that can be stolen easily and that did not exist before: cell phones, car radio, credit cards and ATMs. Probably also increase of the general welfare of the population, of social inequalities and increased activities of the mafias. If immigrants may have changed something was in the phenomenon of robberies in areas that before were almost free of them, like houses in the countryside of the north. But similar cases are linked to specific territorial problems, and limited in space, certainly not a national criminal emergency.
The only true national crime emergency that has gone on for decades and about which politicians and televisions say almost nothing, are the mafia-type organizations in Italy, which often kill (Naples 3/8, Cosenza 28/7, Naples 28/7, Nales 21/7 and so on) and commit every other kind of crime not only in the South but throughout Italy, yet almost never are in the evening news. Perhaps because the italian mafias have too many friends in politics and therefore it's not useful to anyone talking too much about it.
The only true national crime emergency that has gone on for decades and about which politicians and televisions say almost nothing, are the mafia-type organizations in Italy, which often kill (Naples 3/8, Cosenza 28/7, Naples 28/7, Nales 21/7 and so on) and commit every other kind of crime not only in the South but throughout Italy, yet almost never are in the evening news. Perhaps because the italian mafias have too many friends in politics and therefore it's not useful to anyone talking too much about it.
Francesco Defferrari
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