Many people do not feel safe around their homes, a recent survey suggests.

According to a survey, almost 40 per cent of the Italians consider the place where they live unsafe. Also, people’s fear that they will become a victim of a criminal act increased by 24.8 per cent since the beginning of the pandemic.

Italians are primarily worried about three types of crimes: burglary, physical aggression and theft.

9.9 per cent of citizens were afraid of having their personal data stolen online. In addition, 4.8 percent of respondents feared being a victim of sexual violence, and another 2.9 per cent were concerned by being exposed to other criminal acts.

The survey was conducted by Eurispes in cooperation with the Department of Public Security and the Central Directorate of the Criminal Police.

As for the legality of owning a firearm, 44.8 per cent of Italians see it as a threat, saying that those firearms can fall into the wrong hands. 19.2 per cent believe it is a right reserved for certain vulnerable groups. In addition, 18.4 per cent of respondents believe that all citizens should have the means to defend themselves against individuals with malicious intent.

27 per cent of Italians surveyed, or one in four, said they would buy a gun for self-defence, and half of them said they would be afraid of owning a gun and would exercise caution about it.

Italians are very divided when it comes to the ethnicity of the perpetrators. One in five Italians believe that crime is committed mainly by foreigners, while 47 per cent think that crime is committed equally by Italians and foreigners. 26.2 percent of those surveyed did not answer the question whether Italians or foreigners were more responsible for committing crimes.

Foreigners are over-represented in Italian prisons. The proportion of immigrant inmates is about 11 per cent over the European average, standing at 32 per cent according to the latest data. It is about 4 per cent higher than the same figure in Germany.

Foreigners legally residing in Italy make up around 8 percent of the country’s population, while 32 percent of the prison population is of foreign origin. According to sample estimates from individual institutions, non-citizens legally residing in Italy account for less than 10 per cent of the total number of foreign prisoners, meaning that the vast majority of prison inmates from immigrant backgrounds had been illegally staying in Italy before being sentenced.

Statistics also suggest that the number of crimes committed by juvenile offenders is steadily increasing in Italy, rising by 11 percentage points in 2022 compared to the previous year. Over the last two years, the number of minors reported or arrested has gradually increased. While in 2021 a total of 30,405 juveniles were held accountable in some form in 2021, the figure rose to 33,723 by 2022.

Domestic violence also shows surprising figures, with only 24 per cent of victims reporting to the authorities, according to one study. Most cases of domestic violence take the form of humiliation and insults, with 11.6 per cent of those surveyed having experienced this. 5.6 per cent have been threatened by relatives, 4.5 per cent have been stalked and 3.8 per cent have been abused.

31.6 percent of victims defended themselves against domestic violence during the assault, while 24.2 percent remained passive. Less than 20 percent of respondents asked relatives, friends or colleagues for help after such attacks.