Nicola Gratteri, Naples' chief prosecutor, is the first guest on "The Mask," the new radio and television program airing on CRC. In his interview with Lorenzo Crea, scheduled for tomorrow, Saturday, February 7, at 10:00 a.m., the magistrate also discusses the security decree approved yesterday by the Council of Ministers.
"No wrong messages: the police must remain close to citizens."
Gratteri warns against the risk that some measures could be interpreted as "category-specific" protection and therefore as a sign of distance between law enforcement and the community. "I don't want the message to be conveyed that we want to protect one specific category over another and that we want to distance law enforcement from the public," he states, reiterating that "the State Police work for the people and must be friends" with citizens.
The proposal: the State should advance part of the costs for lawyers
According to Gratteri, the most concrete issue requiring action, with a view to reforming the "criminal shield," concerns legal fees. The request is that the state advance at least a portion of the defense costs for law enforcement personnel involved in proceedings.
The magistrate gives an example: "A young police officer on the street earns around 1.400 euros a month" and, with that income, "saving 5.000 euros to pay a lawyer becomes impossible," especially in cities with a high cost of living like Milan or Turin.
“Be careful with the procedure: beware of creating the idea of a protected category”
Gratteri also emphasizes the technical-legal aspect, urging against creating distinctions that could fuel the perception of "protected workers." "We must be careful to make distinctions in criminal procedure," he warns, because "this way, people see police officers and justice workers as protected."
In the interview, he cites a potential critical issue regarding the handling of documents after a firefight: if an officer isn't immediately listed as a suspect and is questioned as a witness, he could make statements that could be detrimental to himself; if, however, he is listed, he may have to wait for the results of technical consultations and expert reports before being questioned.
The final warning
The chief prosecutor concludes with a call for caution: "Paradoxically, it can be damaging to have a police officer or a financial police officer present as a witness and then include him among the suspects," so "let's not act with our gut feeling, but rather think carefully about what we do."
Source EDITORIAL TEAM
Comments (1)
The interview with Gratteri was interesting, but it seems to me that there are many things that need to be clarified regarding how legal costs for police officers should be handled. It's a complex issue, and I believe it requires more attention from the state.