WRITTEN QUESTION No. 3438/98 by Roberta ANGELILLI to the Commission. Community policemen and petty crime in large cities
Date: 1998-11-24
Institutions: ANGELILLI, European Parliament
Subjects: EU action, Italy, delinquency, fight against crime, police, principle of subsidiarity, public safety, urban area

C 142/132

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

21.5.1999

(1999/C 142/167)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3438/98

by Roberta Angelilli (NI) to the Commission

(24 November 1998)

Subject: Community policemen and petty crime in large cities

The proposals put forward in Italy in order to improve safety in areas which are particularly difficult to
police, such as certain parts of Rome, include one concerning the appointment of community-based police
officers.

One of the most serious problems in the major cities of Europe is that of protecting the general public in
the face of ever-increasing levels of petty crime, the widespread nature of which has a significant social
impact on the community.

In view of the above, could the Commission say:

1. whether there are any Commission documents or studies concerning safety in the major cities of

Europe?

2. whether there are any documents or directives concerning strategies to combat petty crime?

3. whether there are any documents concerning community-based police officers?

4. whether, in other Member States, there are similar strategies which take the form of community-based

institutions?

Answer given by Mrs Gradin on behalf of the Commission

(8 January 1999)

The Commission is aware of the problems posed by petty crime and their impact on ordinary people in
their everyday lives. It agrees that the measures taken by the Union to combat organised crime must take
account of urban crime − an approach followed by the action plan to combat organised crime adopted by
the Council in 1997 (1).

The action plan supports the use of Union instruments to help prevent European cities becoming a
breeding ground for organised crime. Projects can be financed from the Community Structural Funds, but
to date only Italy has availed itself of this possibility.

The problems of urban crime are also raised in a communication recently adopted by the Commission on
urban policy, which includes a chapter on developing initiatives to prevent urban crime. (2)

Finally, at its meeting on 3 and 4 December 1998 the Council (Justice and Home Affairs) reached
agreement on a draft resolution on the implementation of a strategy for preventing organised crime, which
also includes measures to prevent urban crime. The resolution, which sets out a timetable and describes the
tasks to be carried out by the Member States, Europol and the Commission, will be formally adopted
shortly.

As regards the documents mentioned by the Honourable Member, the Commission has not commissioned
any studies on petty crime. Moreover, it feels that, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, it is
primarily up to the Member States to decide on the implementation of structures such as community
policing and to lay down the appropriate powers.

The Commission could co-finance projects for the prevention of organised crime − including links to
urban crime − through its own programmes, in particular the Falcone programme. It could also provide
support for a mechanism designed to pool experience and good practice in the prevention field.

(1) OJ C 251, 15.8.1997.
(2) COM(98) 605 final.