Railway Police activity report 2019: 1.174 arrested and 9.558 investigated over 1.600.000 identified
During 2019 the Railway Police carried out their control activity inside the stations and on the trains to ensure the safety of travelers, through the prevention and contrast of the criminal and degradation phenomena present in the railway sector. During the year, over 192.000 patrols were employed in the station and almost 49.000 on board the train. A total of 105.946 train trains were escorted (with an average of about 290 trains per day). 13.706 anti-picking services in civilian clothes were also set up, both in airports and on convoys.
Thanks to this device, the Specialty has arrested 1.174 people, of whom 301 wanted for precautionary measures and 9.588 investigated in the state of freedom and, proceeding overall with 1.663.692 checks, about 26% more than in 2018. During the prevention activities were encouraged during the year with an increase in extraordinary territorial control services for a total of 1.491 operations.
Joint surveillance and escort services also continued on cross-border passenger trains with the assistance of European police forces, in particular from Austria and Germany, to prevent illicit transnational activities, with particular reference to illegal immigration. The joint activities, in addition to the ordinary activities at national level, carried out both at the station and on board the train, made it possible to track a total of 2.480 foreigners in an irregular position and to escort 1.620 trains on the Trento - Brenner section.
The activity to combat copper thefts, which in the railway sector often cause delays in the movement of trains and significant inconvenience for travelers, has resulted in more than 2.038 checks at the metal collection and recovery centers, in approximately 7.928 patrol services of the railway lines and 2.464 roadside inspection services for suspect vehicles. This articulated device allowed the recovery of over 35 t of the so-called "red gold" of illicit origin, the arrest of 15 people and the submission to preliminary investigations of 86 subjects. The phenomenon in the railway sector was further reduced with a drop in thefts of -23% and an increase in recovered copper of 51% compared to last year.
During 2019, the staff of the Specialty tracked 869 missing people, including 784 minors.
Attacks reported by railway staff decreased by 3% compared to 2018, as well as thefts decreased by 13%.
291 seized firearms, cutting and improper weapons, 11 kg of cocaine with an increase from 2018 equal to 471%, 10 kg of heroin equal to an increase of 80% and almost 100 kg of hahish equal to an increase of 90%.
The number of accidents in the railway sector as a whole decreased and the associated mortality also fell (-26%). The data concerning incorrect behavior or carelessness of travelers such as e.g. the crossing of the tracks or the undue presence along the line. This confirms the importance of the prevention and training activity, which the Railway Police pursues vigorously through various education campaigns on legality and safety, which have already been launched for several years, which have the aim of developing the culture of railway safety, through knowledge and application of the rules of correct behavior, in order to contribute to the reduction of incidental events that often involve young people.
The Railway Police continues its activity with the project of education for legality in the railway sector, called "Train ... to be cool", in collaboration with MIUR, intended for primary and secondary schools, with the aim of raising awareness among young people of respect for rules to adopt responsible behavior in the railway sector, so as to avoid accidents often caused by carelessness or imprudence.
The educational campaign, which received the scientific validation of the Faculty of Medicine and Psychology of the University of Rome La Sapienza, began in 2014 and involved, from its birth until December 2019, tens of thousands of students reached directly at their schools during thousands of meetings (elementary, middle and high schools) throughout the national territory.
In fact, statistics relating to railway accidents reveal that it is often the youngest who fall victim to their own incorrect or imprudent behavior, often driven by the unawareness of the dangers present in the railway scenario.
The qualified operators of the specialty, trained through the attendance of specific courses held by psychologists of the Health Department of the PS Department and by teachers of the Faculty of Medicine and Psychology of the University of Rome La Sapienza, are currently 250 and work in schools using educational material, including multimedia.
The meetings were organized, in particular, in the institutes located near the railway lines or in those frequented by commuter students who regularly use the railway to go to class.
In addition to schools, the "Train ... to be cool" project has also been proposed over time in other contexts: during school trips by train, on the occasion of particular events (Book Fair in Turin, Venice Marathon in Venice, Fair Comicon International Comics Festival in Naples, Legality Day in Palermo, Legality Park in Rome, etc.).
Another form of collaboration that this Specialty has initiated is with the National Railway Safety Agency (ANSF) and some sports federations (Italian Rugby Federation and Italian Volleyball Federation), to teach, through play with champions from the two different disciplines, some simple precautions to be taken when traveling by train.
Finally, within the framework of the international police collaboration, the Railway Police continued its activities within the European Association of Railway and Transport Police RAILPOL, set up to respond to the growing need for international collaboration, exchange of information and best practices. among the police forces, responsible for security in this area of mobility. In 2019, the Association also saw the entry of Slovenia and Greece, which brought the number of active members to 19. In this context, during 2019 Italy maintained the presidency of the Strategic Analysis Working Group, aimed at the strategic analysis of the trend of the main criminal phenomena in the railway sector in Europe in order to outline common operational lines of prevention and contrast between the various member countries.