The crime package the government will launch in Naples next Wednesday will seek to calm widespread fear and rage aimed at foreign criminals, Interior Minister Roberto Maroni said Friday.
Addressing officials at a ceremony marking the 156th anniversary of the foundation of the Italian police, Maroni said the torching of Roma gypsy camps earlier this week after the attempted abduction of a baby was an ''unfortunate'' indicator of the public mood.
He said the law-and-order package which is being put together would try to ''prevent rage prevailing over civilised co-existence,'' amid fears that such episodes may recur.
Maroni said there was a widespread fear of threats such as violent burglaries and crimes against women and old people, which have led broad segments of the population to identify them with illegal immigrants.
He said the 'security' package would adopt a ''firmer'' line on illegal immigration and root out the bad apples from the many immigrants who help the Italian economy.
Maroni said he had already been in touch with foreign governments including Libya and Romania to draft more effective ways of keeping out migrants with no job prospects.
He added that local initiatives such as citizen watches and even patrols, backed by the police and in some cases by the army, were probably necessary in some zones.
Speaking at the same ceremony, Italian Police Chief Antonio Manganelli said that ''only by blocking the entry into Italy of people who refuse to integrate, people who import crime, will we be able to help ease the fear that has crept across swathes of our country''.
The centre-left opposition has criticised the government's announced plans, especially a law making it a crime to enter Italy without papers, the use of the army to back ''vigilantes'' and the extension of time limits of detention in processing centres.
They claim the measures may clash with European Union law.
In the past week police made their biggest sweep in years against illegal immigrants and foreign criminals involved in activities ranging from sex slavery to drug dealing, robbery and suspected terrorism.
Maroni added that the government would crack down on Italian criminals and the Mafia and added that it would put more cash into policing, saying that funding levels had dropped for the past two years.
