More cars vandalized in Palermo, police union warns: “We need more officers”

Last Updated: March 28, 2024

Ancora auto vandalizzate a Palermo, l'allarme della Uil polizia: «Servono più agenti»

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New cars damaged in Palermo near the central station. The owners of some cars found the windows smashed in the area between via Milano and Montesanto, once again near via Roma. Twenty-four hours earlier, it happened in via Fiume and again in via Pavia, via Roma itself, and via Torino. Residents in the area are considering proposing private security checks in the area during a meeting soon. In via Milano, a jeep was targeted: the windows were shattered, the interior was ransacked, and the perpetrator fled. Just a few days ago, two other vehicles were targeted in via dell’Università, near the Law Faculty. A few months ago, a series of attacks on residents and shop owners in the area between via Calderai and piazza Sant’Anna also occurred: two cars belonging to the same family were severely damaged within a week. A shop owner’s van was also targeted, costing him €800 to repair the damage. The incidents involve pure vandalism, with nothing stolen.

Each vandalized car costs families hundreds of euros. “For a few months now there have been car damages without anything being stolen. This phenomenon also affects other Sicilian provinces,” said Giovanni Assenzio, provincial secretary of Uil Police Palermo, following the latest episodes of petty crime. According to Uil Police, the crimes may be driven by desperation for drug money, but not always. For example, nothing was stolen during car damages in via Nicolò Garzilli last February, as well as in via Veneto and near the Trapezoidal Dock.

The historic center, plagued by the “malamovida” phenomenon, is also not immune to damages not followed by theft. For example, incidents that occurred since last January in via Santa Rita, between via Sant’Agostino and piazza Sant’Onofrio, and other areas where broken glass from rock-throwing has been found.

“To cope with this new type of petty crime that is much harder to detect than in the past, there is an urgent need for an increase in police personnel, which does not seem to be a priority yet,” Assenzio added.