After an increase in juvenile delinquency within the country of Italy, the government has taken the decision to announce a decree against the crimes of minors.  

In a press conference held by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Sept. 7, 2023, it was approved to rehabilitate the country’s juvenile system after the public voiced concerns over these “baby gangs.”

The Italian government has approved a law that makes it easier to arrest and imprison minors as young as 14 years old after a rise of high-case crimes regarding teen gangs. This order was issued following the news of seven males, including a 17 year old teenager, arrested the month before for a gang-rape committed in Palermo, Sicily.

While Meloni agreed that it is morally difficult to put a child in jail, she promises “life imprisonment” for any juvenile that commits murder or any crime within that degree. She includes this statement during a meeting with the mother of Giovanbattista Cutolo, a 24 year old who was gunned down by a 17 year old on the streets of Naples, Italy, on Aug. 31, 2023.

“Rapid rates of change put enormous stress on a given society. If young people are being harmed or sexually assaulted then the authorities need to take some sort of appropriate action,” says Bob Harrington, a social science instructor at Riordan, who believes governments worldwide need to take an honest look at humanity’s economic system. 

The government decree allows for official authorities to confiscate mobile phones, arrest any minors who carry weapons or drugs, and charge parents whose child dropped out of school. With this, the city of Rome also seeks to include parental restrictions on teenagers’ phones in order to limit their access to adult content and influential media that could negatively affect their mindset.