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PoliticsSecurity Bill revision: possible extension of preventive detention powers to local police

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The Italian government is preparing to revise the Security Bill, with a measure aimed at strengthening provisions against youth gangs known as "maranza". According to press reports, a technical meeting at Palazzo Chigi was scheduled to finalize the text's last details, after which the bill could reach the Council of Ministers. The main proposal under consideration, also reported by news agency Ansa, concerns extending preventive detention powers to municipal and local police. Preventive detention allows law enforcement to hold a person for up to 12 hours without a judge's authorization when there is a concrete danger to public order. According to government sources cited by Il Messaggero, the provision is still being defined but is considered close to approval. The acceleration reportedly follows recent episodes of urban violence, particularly an assault near the Colosseum in Rome, where a group of young people targeted two local police patrol cars. In the following days, the Interior Ministry launched an extraordinary operation in the area, with more than 350 people identified, 10 arrests and 9 people reported to the authorities. The Interior Minister also announced that an 18-year-old Egyptian citizen involved in the assault had been expelled and repatriated to Egypt following an assessment of his social dangerousness. The measure would build on an existing legislative framework. The first anti-maranza provisions were contained in the security decree approved by the Council of Ministers on February 5 and passed by the Chamber of Deputies in April. The decree provides that anyone who carries outside the home, without a valid reason, a knife with a blade of at least 8 centimetres faces six months to three years in prison, with an aggravating circumstance if the act occurs on trains or buses. For blades under 5 centimetres, no justification is required under an exemption approved in the Senate. Fines ranging from 500 to 3,000 euros are also envisaged for retailers who sell knives to minors. The political debate has also included the issue of law enforcement staffing levels, while the opposition has criticized the government's approach.