The Prime Minister of Italy says that armored cars will remain every day at Italian army checkpoints near the Colosseum and Termini train station to deter possible crimes or security problems.
The Prime Minister of Italy announced this Friday the mobilization of several armored vehicles to some locations in Rome, to reinforce a public security operation.
The Puma armored vehicles, intended for transporting troops, they will remain every day at the Italian army checkpoints near the Colosseum and Termini train station, until after midnight, to deter possible crimes or problems of public security.
“No weakening of the ‘Strade Sicure’ operation [Ruas Seguras]. The Puma cars of the Italian army arrive at Termini station and the Colosseum”, wrote Giorgia Meloni, on social media, where she published a video in which she greets the soldiers.
Operation ‘Strade Sicure’ was launched in 2008, during the last government of former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, to “prevent cases of crime in metropolitan or densely populated areas”.
Currently, in Italy there are around 6,800 soldiers guarding the country’s main streets, squares and monuments, such as the Colosseum, the Milan Duomo or the historic center of Florence, as well as institutional buildings.
In November last year, the Italian Defense Minister, Guido Crosetto, proposed the withdrawal of soldiers to be replaced by police officers, which led to criticism from the police, who then demanded new hires.
Now, Meloni responded with the deployment of three armored vehicles at permanent controls the Coliseum and the main train station of the Italian capital, Termini, common spots for robberies and other crimes.
Each of the vehicles will be occupied by two soldiers and its mission is to dissuade possible violent behavior in both areas with a large tourist influx.
The spokesman in the Chamber of Deputies for Meloni’s far-right Brothers of Italy (Fratelli d’Italia) party, Galeazzo Bignami, stated that the decision to reinforce security with these vehicles shows that “security is a priority” for the Italian Government.
In these 17 years in force, according to data from the Ministry of Defense, Operation “Safe Streets” has resulted in 60 million checks on people or vehicles, more than 100,000 arrests or reports and the seizure of around 2,000 weapons and 2.5 tons of drugs.
