Campania has two faces: Naples is out of the top 10 for crime but the queen of robberies, Benevento is an oasis.

The public safety report for the province of Naples for 2026 highlights a clear discrepancy between its national statistical ranking and the actual incidence of crime in the area. In the General Crime Index, the Naples metropolitan area ranks 13th in Italy, consolidating its exit from the top ten of provinces most affected by reported crimes.

The data emerge from the Ministry of the Interior's dossier for the first half of 2026, published on August 15.

Official reports average approximately 132.500 total crime reports per year, a slight decline of 2,43% year-over-year. Analysts warn, however, that this apparent decrease in reported crimes in the Naples metropolitan area is partially distorted by the widespread phenomenon of under-reporting, particularly for minor street crimes and petty crime, which distorts the perception of actual urban safety.

This metropolitan scenario contrasts sharply with the situation in other provinces in the same Campania region. While the coastal area and large urban centers struggle with predatory crime, the Campanian hinterland is rediscovering itself as a haven of peace.

The most emblematic case is represented by the province of Benevento, which consistently ranks among the safest and most protected areas in the entire peninsula, offering a model of livability diametrically opposed to that of the nearby metropolitan area of ​​Naples.

Benevento and the model of the safest provinces in Italy

At the other end of the risk spectrum, 2026 reaffirms the primacy of small and medium-sized cities as bastions of legality and social cohesion. Within this narrow circle, led nationally by Oristano (the safest overall) and Potenza, the province of Benevento shines as a true model of integrated security. The Sannio region has an exceptionally low rate of complaints per capita, significantly distancing itself from the critical issues affecting large urban agglomerations.

The success of the province of Benevento is based on a historically cohesive social fabric and widespread territorial control, where predatory crimes (such as muggings and robberies) and organized crime infiltration struggle to find fertile ground.

In the Benevento area, residents' perception of safety almost perfectly matches actual police data, minimizing both social alarm and the lack of reports that skew data from larger cities.

The stability of Benevento, along with cities like Treviso, demonstrates how a human-sized provincial city remains the main defense against the spread of petty crime and violent street crime.

The national negative records of the province of Naples

Despite Naples' overall ranking outside the top ten, the province unfortunately maintains its absolute national leadership in specific criminal sectors with a high social impact:

• Robberies and muggings: Naples remains Italy's number one city for public robberies and pickpocketing.
• Extortion and racketeering: The area holds the national record for the volume of complaints related to extortion and pressure from organized crime.
• Smuggling: Italy continues to hold first place for crimes related to the smuggling of goods.
• Vehicle Theft: The province remains firmly among the top three nationally for the theft, dismantling, and recycling of vehicles.

Neapolitan crime trends on the rise in the first half of 2026

While traditional organized crime is reshaping its operational strategies, partially shifting toward the legal economy, consolidated data from 2026 sheds light on new and emerging social tensions in the Neapolitan hinterland:

• Juvenile crime: There has been a sharp increase in violent crimes committed by minors, with fights and injuries fueling the so-called "knife scare" phenomenon in urban nightlife areas.
• Narcotics: Reports related to drug dealing and the management of supply centers show a 3,9% increase.
• Crimes against persons: Sexual assaults recorded a 7,5% increase, followed by personal injuries, which increased by 5,8% on a provincial scale.

The geography of risk in city neighborhoods

The security mapping within the Campania capital portrays a deeply divided city, where the distance between safe neighborhoods and risk areas delineates invisible but impassable boundaries:

• The areas at highest risk: The neighborhoods of the northern suburbs, primarily Scampia and Secondigliano, and some strategic areas of the historic center with a very high density of petty crime – such as Vasto-Ferrovia and the Spanish Quarters – remain the areas most closely monitored by the police to combat drug dealing and predatory crime.
• The safest areas: At the opposite end of the spectrum, the district comprising Chiaia, Posillipo, and San Ferdinando consolidates its position as the urban area with the highest perceived levels of tranquility and safety, closely followed by the western district of Bagnoli-Fuorigrotta.