"The Covid-19 emergency has highlighted the potential of a part of our country that is often suffocated by the presence of a minority, because it is a minority, represented by crime. Never before have I felt so proud of my roots. I have always thought that our country is united. Some, however, began to think about the unity of Italy when they sensed the possibility that there could be new commercial and economic prospects".
Lor said the Chief Prosecutor at the Salerno Public Prosecutor's Office, Giuseppe Borrelli, who spoke at the #GiffoniAUnMetroDaTe talk hosted by the director of Giffoni Opportunity, Claudio Gubitosi, with the participation of two giffoners, Elena Manco, 19, and Pietro Rapuano, 21, both law students, who asked the Prosecutor questions and solicited food for thought. A discussion that the Prosecutor greatly appreciated: "I am honored to participate in a working group like this - he explained - in a context as appreciated as Giffoni, one of the few positively known realities in Italy".
The world of justice in the time of coronavirus, what happened? How have the judicial offices been reorganized and what effect will this phase have on the judicial system? "What happened - explained the chief prosecutor of Salerno - has changed the way we relate to each other in everyday life. The Prosecutor's Office has been the litmus test of these changes that have occurred, many of which in negative terms, because the moment we have lived and are living is dramatic. However, there have also been positive aspects. The first thing I did was to remove employees and collaborators from the offices as much as possible. I had to rationalize the use of administrative staff, we are talking about about a hundred employees. We have created facilities that ensure essential services. This has effectively led to a blockage of judicial activity. Modern telematics, however, has allowed us to make more progress in a month and a half than we have made in years of work. Many barriers have been overcome. For example, a few days ago I had a video-conference interrogation. Everything that is happening in our work organization has been the confirmation that, as Italians, we give the best of ourselves in emergency conditions".
With the return to normality, will these changes give way to the traditional organization of work? "It would be positive if something from this phase remained because technology today offers tools that are useful if, however, there are no extremes - is the hope of Dr. Borrelli - If we used the positive things that have emerged in this period, we could determine a good change in the system".
The types of crimes that have been committed in this phase have also changed with people always at home and habits completely overturned by the lockdown: "Cybercrimes have increased, as was imaginable - explained the Chief Prosecutor of Salerno - we are very late on this. The phenomenon has assumed gigantic proportions and there is no specific training to combat it. We have specialized departments such as the Postal Police or some units of the Guardia di Finanza, but their numerical consistency is very limited. The web offers numerous possibilities to become victims of crimes. Think of online scams for example. Add to this the attempts at grooming, the phenomenon of child pornography. There is a vast range of crimes in this sense to which has been added the use of social media and the phenomenon of fake news. It is a dangerous reality that has no criminal relevance but which has its own evident weight to the extent that it conditions people's orientations. In this sense we should also equip ourselves with new regulatory interventions. The phenomenon is complex because there is a risk of determining limitations of constitutionally guaranteed rights such as the right to free expression of thought".
Covid-19 is synonymous with pain for the many losses and has brought to light the responsibilities of a system that has not worked in all its articulations, just think of the phenomenon of Residences for the Elderly in some areas of the country: "I have not had phenomena related to RSAs in my area - continued Borrelli - as happened elsewhere. What I have seen on television images and in the media in general was heartbreaking. I am obviously speaking about it without considering the criminal aspects that I do not know. The story was heartbreaking in various respects because we have had a generation that was completely decimated. The right to life of these people, of our elderly, has been underestimated. It is clear how a part of Italy comes out splendidly for the discipline and for the functioning capacity of some structures, with a reading, therefore, that is totally distant from that which is often and commonly made by the national media".
The danger is that the resurgence of certain crimes could occur due to the economic difficulties that are currently being experienced by large parts of Italian society: «Perhaps – says the Prosecutor – we have not realized what a crisis situation we will find ourselves in when the country restarts. I invite you to think about what the next tourist season will be like, in which arrivals from outside will be severely limited. How will entrepreneurs who have invested in tourism be able to stay afloat? There will be a dramatic crisis. From which we will emerge very slowly. There will also be a problem of usury, without a doubt. But above all, all operators will be exposed to the risk of looting. Those who have a hotel and a season with zero customers is looming may decide to sell the structure. Crime has enough liquid money to make offers. This will make crime stronger and will increase the sectors and activities in which it will operate. We must be very careful about all of this. The problem should not be underestimated».
Article published on May 2, 2020 - 21:33 pm
