Good news – troops are on the street!

It is not often that you would celebrate soldiers being sent onto the streets but in the case of Bari and 9 other cities – it is!  Prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, has started a massive crack down on crime. The troops will patrol alongside state police as well as carabinieri paramilitary police.    This is in response to a huge up surge in car and street crime.   Over 2000 troops, some of which have been in Bosnia, will patrol the streets Rome, Milan, Naples, Bari, Florence, Genoa, Bologna, Turin, Palermo and Venice.    It is thought that the initiative will start within two week and last anywhere up to six months.  Defence minister Ignazio La Russa said: ‘If it was possible to recruit and train 2,500 police officers immediately than I would be delighted not to use troops in the cities.’