Two and a half million people checked, with an increase of 49% compared to 2019. 751 arrested and 9.493 investigated: this is the very first year-end balance sheet of the Railway Police checks, thanks also to the greater commitment connected to the "anti covid ".
There are also numerous seizures: 230 weapons, 4 firearms, 164 cutting and 62 improper weapons as well as about 4 kg of cocaine, 2,5 kg of heroin and over 62 kg of hashish.
During the year, 200.864 patrols were employed in the station and 24.644 on board the train. A total of 51.403 railway trains were attended. In addition, 12.488 anti-drafting services in civilian clothes were set up, both in the airports and on the convoys. 187 are the wanted people captured.
The reduction in attendance at railway yards, also linked to the lockdown, led to a general decline in the main criminal phenomena. In particular, thefts in stations and on trains recorded a drop of - 60% compared to last year, with the passage from 4.572 to 1.831 events.
Prevention activities were encouraged with an increase in the extraordinary days of territorial control for a total of 29 operations: 7 "High Impact" and 7 "Safe Stations", aimed at combating the most recurrent illegal activities in the railway sector; 5 "Rail Safe Day", aimed at preventing improper or anomalous behavior, often the cause of investments, 5 "Red Gold", aimed at combating copper theft and 2 "Dangerous Goods Action Week", aimed at strengthening controls, in transport railway, of these substances.
In the international field, cooperation activities continued within the European network of railway police RAILPOL, in order to improve specialized techniques and strengthen collaboration between member countries through the mutual exchange of information, the definition of common operational strategies. and the planning of joint control actions. 3 the "Rail Actions" in which Italy took part, organized to prevent possible terrorist or subversive actions.
Joint surveillance services also continued on cross-border passenger trains with the help of the European police forces, in particular of Austria and Germany, to prevent illegal activities of a transnational nature, with particular reference to illegal immigration. The joint activities, in addition to the ordinary national ones, carried out both at the station and on board the train, made it possible to trace a total of 2.291 foreigners in an irregular position and to attend 158 trains on the Trento - Brenner route.
The activity to combat copper theft, which in the railway sector often causes delays in the movement of trains and considerable inconvenience for travelers, has resulted in 1.793 checks at metal collection and recovery centers, in approximately 8.942 patrol services of the lines and in 1.719 roadside inspection services for suspicious vehicles. This articulated device allowed the recovery of over 58 tons of the so-called “red gold” of illegal origin, the arrest of 6 people and the denunciation of 133 subjects. The phenomenon in the railway sector was further reduced with a decrease in thefts of - 42% and an increase in the quantities of recovered copper, which doubled compared to last year.
The activity of the NOIF specialist unit (Nucleo Operativo Ferroviari Accidents) also continued, involved in railway disasters or particularly complex accidents, such as the one that occurred on January 14 in Naples in the collision between two trains of the Metro Line 1: that of 6 February, near Lodi, along the Milan-Bologna high-speed railway line, where a Freccia train, shortly after departure, left the railway station; that of 19 August, when a Trenord convoy, on the Lecco-Milan section, derailed in the Carnate - Usmate station, in the province of Monza Brianza.
As part of the checks on dangerous goods, 174 checks were carried out on 1.816 Italian and foreign railway wagons. 85 the irregularities found during 2 specific weeks of dedicated inspections, which were accompanied by the ordinary control activities, carried out by the staff of the Specialty.
In 2020, railway police officers tracked down 580 missing people, including 505 minors. In particular, on 15 September in Bari a fifteen-year-old who had been away from the family home for a few days was tracked down, while on 9 June in Ancona Centrale a very young girl was tracked down on board a convoy bound for Milan. and coming from Bari, who had left home to join her sister in the Lombard capital.
There are many happy ending stories and several rescues, both of would-be suicides and people taken ill, as well as travelers who, by not respecting the rules of conduct, have jeopardized their own safety. As in the case that occurred in Formia on December 16, when a 18-year-old tried to cross the tracks on foot, despite some walking difficulties, ending up falling on the railway site. The providential intervention of the policemen avoided the investment by a train that was about to arrive. In Ferrara, on June 24 and in Milan, on August 2, there was instead the rescue of two travelers taken ill at the station: the XNUMX were first rescued by Polfer agents who practiced heart massage until arrival of the health workers.
Several episodes recorded this year too, of boys on the tracks for games and challenges that could have had tragic consequences. Often in these cases the young protagonists ignore the dangers present in stations or on trains. For this reason, the Railway Police has long been involved in schools to promote the culture of individual safety in the railway sector in particular among adolescents. About 25.000 students were reached during the year, unfortunately conditioned by the course of the pandemic, as part of the legality education project, "Train ... to be cool", created in collaboration with MIUR and with the scientific support of Faculty of Medicine and Psychology of the University of Rome La Sapienza. The initiative, since its inception (2014), has made it possible to reach more than 300.000 students in over 3.180 meetings.