Milan clashes, what will the 500 army soldiers do in the city

They will have fixed surveillance tasks at sensitive objectives and patrolling the territory, but will not be able to make arrests or carry out direct public order functions during demonstrations. The 500 additional soldiers sent by the government to Milan after the clashes which, last weekend, put the Piazza Duomo area on fire, will reinforce the contingent already active in the Lombard capital and will be made available to the public security authorities (the Prefect and the Police Commissioner) to contribute to city control. The executive approved yesterday, Tuesday 20 October, a law decree on safety which provides for their use until 31 December and the strengthening of the "Safe Roads" operation.

Protection in key points

Despite the first political hypotheses of granting them judicial police powers (such as the possibility of carrying out arrests or searches), the final text of the decree approved by the Council of Ministers therefore confirmed the standard rules of engagement. The initial idea of ​​conferring extraordinary police powers on the military lapsed, therefore, also due to the strong resistance of the police unions and the heads of the Interior Ministry, who were opposed to overlapping the professional roles of the army with those of public security agents. The "new" soldiers will not be used to manage public order in the squares or to repress violent demonstrations (a task which remains the exclusive responsibility of the police forces and the Carabinieri). The army's main function will be visual deterrence. By guarding the key points of Milan, they will allow a greater number of police and carabinieri to free themselves from static guard duties to be used directly in the active control of the territory and in the management of street demonstrations.

In-depth analysis

Clashes Milan. Safe roads, how many soldiers and the tasks

Operation "Safe Streets"

An initiative to support public security in Italy, launched on 4 August 2008 under the Berlusconi IV government, the "Safe Streets" operation involves the use of Armed Forces personnel (mainly the Italian Army) for specific crime prevention needs in metropolitan areas and for the surveillance of sensitive sites. During their service, soldiers take on the status of public security agents, but not of judicial police. They can proceed with the identification or sanction of people only if supported or in competition with the Police Force. At the beginning of October, the House Defense Committee approved a resolution to gradually increase the overall quota of soldiers employed on national territory, aiming to bring the contingent from around 6,800 up to 10,000 units to guard stations, cities and sensitive objectives.

In-depth analysis

Safe streets, tensions in the majority: Lega files a resolution