A police car drives past a group of tourists in Piazza Plebiscito, one of the most popular squares in downtown Naples, Italy, Friday afternoon. Naples officials have added hundreds of police to curb violent and petty crime that plague the city, including tourist zones. (Sandra Jontz / S&S)
NAPLES, Italy — Hundreds of extra local, state and military police are patrolling the streets of Naples in an effort to curb the violent and petty crimes that plague the city, especially now, during the tourist high season.
While recent national and international news reports of two violent robberies haven’t made things easier for officials who are trying to reverse the city’s beleaguered reputation for purse snatchings and organized crime, it isn’t stopping them from trying, said Alessandra Esposito, a spokeswoman for the city government.
“Robberies can happen here just like anywhere else in the world,” she said. “You must be vigilant and apply common sense, just as you would if you were visiting any other city.
“But we are working to make things better,” Esposito said. “We have more police, more Carabinieri and more Guardia di Finanza on the streets to deter crime.”
The Carabinieri are Italy’s military police, and the Guardia di Finanza are Italy’s finance police.
News spread around the world when a young American tourist, Thomas Godfrey, was robbed of his camera while photographing a church in downtown Naples on Aug. 8. He was beaten by an angry mob of locals when he chased after the thieves.
A few days later, an Italian woman, six months pregnant, was beaten by thugs during a purse snatching. She has recovered and the baby is not in danger, Esposito said.
“What you’re not reading about are the four robberies [Thursday] and four arrests that were made by our police on motorcycles,” Esposito said. “We are catching the criminals because we have more police.”
That doesn’t make everyone feel better.
A 24-year-old American sailor, who said he was attacked a month ago by an Italian youth on a motor scooter, doesn’t think the increased police presence would make him feel any safer.
“Going downtown just doesn’t interest me anymore,” said the sailor, who asked not to be named because the case is under investigation by local and U.S. authorities.
Lt. Cmdr. David Morales said he thwarted a robbery recently while downtown with his wife and friends.
“Several weeks ago, a couple of guys on a Vespa made an attempt to snatch a purse from my group. When they noticed that I was expecting [and] ready for them, they backed off at the last second,” he said.
“We still go out to dinner and go out downtown, but with caution. I won’t let my wife go shopping by herself downtown, and we talk about security measures when she goes with friends. Usually that means — don’t take a purse, stay off the quieter streets; mostly, watch out for mopeds.”
Americans aren’t direct targets, Esposito said. “These are crimes of opportunity. They don’t check identification cards before robbing someone.”
People have to be smart and to have common sense — such as not wearing expensive jewelry, not flashing money, and securing bags and cameras while touring the city, she said.
One thing Esposito said the tourist office has done to help out: It has supplied the most popular hotels with plastic watches for their guests to encourage them to leave their expensive ones behind.
