The collaboration between the Italian Banking Association and the Department of Public Security is further strengthened. The Director General of ABI, Giovanni Sabatini, and the Deputy Director General of Public Security-Central Director of the Criminal Police, Prefect Vittorio Rizzi, , in Rome, at the headquarters of the Banking Association, the signing of the new Memorandum of Understanding for the prevention of crime against banks and customers, confirming a profitable operating relationship since 2006. The initiative is part of the context of the interventions aimed at creating and implementing stable and profitable cooperation synergies between public institutional subjects and economic operators, with the aim of strengthening "participatory security" on the territory, achieving higher levels of protection of citizens and making the complex and articulated increasingly effective crime prevention and combating activities put in place on a daily basis field by the police forces.
“For the banks operating in Italy – said the General Manager of ABI Giovanni Sabatini – the safety of citizens and employees is a priority. The commitment of the banking world is also confirmed by the significant drop in crimes recorded in recent years. Compared to ten years ago, in fact, robberies against bank branches decreased by 93%, going from 1.242 in 2012 to 87 in 2021. And yet - added Sabatini - it is very important to always keep the attention high and further strengthen collaboration with institutions and law enforcement agencies, to effectively face the demanding challenges that the globalized world imposes on us. “. "The collaborative relationship between the Department of Public Safety and the Italian Banking Association, consolidated over time and increasingly broad and targeted, represents excellence at a European level and allows us to promptly have data and risk assessment elements extremely useful for the joint strategic analysis activity implemented by the Criminal Analysis Service.
This synergy, extended through participation in the Observatory for Physical Security (OSSIF) to the exchange of data relating to predatory crimes to the detriment not only of banks, but also of many other operators and economic subjects, has made it possible to develop over time new and effective forms of prevention and fight against crime. The constant, tendential decrease in predatory crime in this area represents an additional stimulus in pursuing this commitment with great conviction"- said the Deputy Director General of Public Security - Central Director of the Criminal Police, Prefect Vittorio Rizzi". During the meeting, the main results of the thirteenth Inter-sectoral Report on Predatory Crime were presented, which takes into consideration the robberies carried out in 2021 and in the first half of 2022, comparing the different sectors.
In the Report, prepared by experts from OSSIF (ABI Research Center on Anti-Crime Security) and the Criminal Analysis Service of the Central Directorate of the Criminal Police, with the participation of some of the main private organizations operating in strategic sectors of the national economy, such as Assovalori, Confcommercio–Imprese per l'Italia, the Italian Federation of Tobacconists, Federdistribuzione, Federfarma, Poste Italiane and Unem, show, among other things, a significant decrease in bank robberies (-26,9%), at petrol stations ( -26,1%) and post offices (-16,1%).