Criminal shield, preventive arrest, and crackdown on bladed weapons, these are all the provisions present in the draft of the decree law.
Criminal shield, preventive arrest, crackdown on bladed weapons and much more. Today’s Council of Ministers had as its main theme the “security package”, which has become extremely topical after the riots committed by antagonists in Turin.
The “double track” procedure was confirmed, with a law decree which will contain the most urgent measures, while those that require a longer process will be delegated to the bill.
Here are the main provisions of the legislative decree, as they were written in the information sheet.
Criminal shield
After the changes made on the advice of the Quirinale, the “criminal shield” has been partially amended, mainly for constitutional reasons. For officers and citizens who react in “legitimate defense”, automatic registration in the register of suspects will no longer be triggered.
In particular, as can be seen from the information sheet of the decree, “the public prosecutor, when it appears clear that the act was committed in the presence of a justifying cause (for example: self-defence, fulfillment of a duty, legitimate use of weapons, state of necessity), proceeds with the preliminary notation, in a separate form, of the name of the person to whom the fact is attributedregulating the investigation activity”.
A parallel register is therefore created, valid for both law enforcement agencies and ordinary citizens.
Estimated hold
The preventative stop it was one of the measures that required greater discussion, not only between the government allies but also with the Quirinale. The initial idea was to detain people suspected of disturbing public order during demonstrations, even without flagrant crime, for periods of up to 12 hours.
The Quirinale has expressed concerns about compatibility with constitutional guarantees. The revised version therefore provides for detention for a maximum of 12 hours and “accompaniment” to the police officesbut only if “there is well-founded reason to believe that they are engaging in conduct that poses a concrete danger to the peaceful conduct of the demonstration and to public safety and security”.
The arrest can therefore be carried out if “specific and concrete circumstances of time and place” exist, or if there is “the possession of weapons, instruments capable of offending”, or even “the use of firecrackers, helmets or instruments that make it difficult to recognize the person or the relevance of criminal records or police reports for crimes committed during public demonstrations over the last 5 years”.
It is given anyway the power to prosecutors to order the immediate release of those arrested: “Immediate notice is given to the public prosecutor (of the preventive detention, ed.), who, if he recognizes that the conditions are not met (..) orders the release of the accompanied person”.
Participation in events
The decree also provides the ban on participation in meetings or gatherings in public places for people with a criminal convictionwhich will be ordered by the judge.
This ban will apply to certain types of convictionsranging from attacks for terrorist or subversion purposes, to devastation and looting, through to injuries against law enforcement officers, health workers or referees.
The police commissioner is also given the power to order the convicted person to appear personally one or more times, at the times indicated, in the competent police office or command during the day on which the demonstrations on which the ban is placed take place.
The penalties provided for failure to comply with these provisions range from 4 months to 1 year.
Squeeze on sidearms
Also present in the decree law is the clampdown on knives and bladed weapons, with tightening of sanctions for illegal carrying, and the extension of the red zones with strengthened supervision.
It is forbidden to sell any type of improper weapon to minors, including via the web and electronic platforms administrative sanctions, inflicted by the Prefect, which will go to 500 to 3 thousand euros, increased up to 12 thousand in case of repetition and with the revocation of the license.
Supervision will be entrusted to Agcom, while the operator will be required to keep an electronic register to enter individual sales transactions on a daily basis, under penalty of administrative fines of between 2 thousand and 10 thousand euros.
Finally, the “absolute ban on carrying instruments with flexible blades, sharp and cutting with a length of over 5 centimetres, snap or butterfly, easy to conceal and frequently used, under penalty of imprisonment from 1 to 3 years”.
Entry into Italy is prohibited for those convicted of possessing weapons
Also within the decree there is an amendment to Consolidated law on immigrationin particular: “Anyone who has committed the crime of altering weapons and manufacturing unrecognized explosives will not be able to enter Italyas well as the license to carry weapons for which a license is not permitted and to carry particular cutting and cutting tools”.
