Dear Mayor
Renzi,
We have been
visiting your city for a couple of months. It is a beautiful city and we have
enjoyed walking around and enjoying the side streets. However, we are appalled
at the amount of dog faeces that seem to be everywhere (often, unfortunately,
stepping into it). Are there are no ordinances requiring dog owners to pick up
after their dogs?
Why not
provide metal canisters on existing trashcans that contain thin plastic gloves
or paper napkins so that dog owners can pick up their dog waste.
We hope this
suggestion is of help.
Sincerely,
Eileen
Sprague
Dear Eileen,
There is a
specific police regulation for the City of Florence that outlines responsible
behaviour for dog owners. The Environmental Unit of the Municipal Police (the
Nucleo Ambientale della Polizia Municipale) issues fines to owners who do not
respect these rules. Of course, the city police are occupied on many fronts,
though with the current reorganization, we will see a 10 percent increase in
local police officers on the street, which will provide an opportunity for
better enforcement of these and other city regulations.
I would like
to add that I think the real problem is cultural. It has been a goal of my
administration from the start to raise awareness among Florentines of the need
for an increased civic sense with regard to the care for and respect of their
city. We must all do our part!
I would like
to thank you for having written me and for having sent your suggestions. I know
you will find an improved city on your next visit to Florence.
Un saluto, Matteo
Dear Mayor Renzi,
Piazza
Beccaria is generally considered a quiet, safe area where residents enjoy their
lives, meeting friends and shopping.
However,
after I was robbed at 5pm in one of the most familiar streets in the city, I
have started to wonder how safe it is for women carrying a handbag during the
day in the streets of Florence.
I am a
foreigner, working for more than six years in this area and lived in via
Gioberti for two years, knowing almost every corner of this area.
On a Friday
afternoon around 5:10pm last June, I was on the way to Campo di Marte station.
While I was walking in the parking area in front of the Bank Cassa di Risparmio
di Firenze, my handbag was grabbed by two men on a scooter. When I realized it
was a robbery, the scooter had already escaped down the beginning of via
Scialoja. I could only see the white helmet of one of the men on the scooter.
A passerby
saw what happened and called the police. Some undercover policemen arrived 20
minutes after the call, asked me a few questions and then took me to the
Questura to report the robbery. In the Questura, the police officer knew I
could speak English and some Italian. Not requiring a translator, he asked me
to fill out the Report of Theft in a room. I handed it to the officer after
filling out one paper because the two papers given to me were exactly the same.
He started putting some stamps on the paper when he discovered the second paper
was blank; he then yelled: ‘I asked you to fill both of them, even if they were
the same.’ I replied, ‘You could make a copy, couldn’t you?’
I then
filled out both sheets, then he stamped them without asking anything of the
robbery, gave me one paper and said I could leave. Firstly, I was astonished to
find out that the reporting system is not computerized in Italy. I was very
disappointed because the police officer’s attitude made me think, ‘This is just
one of the robbery cases. No one really cares.’ What I lost would never be
found, as well as the thieves.
Apart of my
loss, things could be even worse. At least I did not get hurt. I went back to
the scene of the robbery in order to collect as many clues as possible for the
investigation. I went to the banks nearby to check if the CCTVs recorded anything
of the robbery scene. Unfortunately, these CCTVs had very short vision,
focusing on the entrance and ATMs of the banks only.
I discovered
there was no other CCTV in the piazza Beccaria area, and I wondered how this
was possible. I think that in a busy area with so many people, cars and parking
lots, normally, there should be at least one camera in case something happens.
There was an iPhone 3GS in my bag: the police could track it down by using the
security code. Will the police even investigate this? I also wonder what the
overall success rate of robbery cases is in this city?
When telling
my story to friends and colleagues, I have heard several similar stories about
women being robbed by men on scooters, or men grabbing their handbags in
daylight, with the police doing nothing to prevent this from happening or
following up the robberies. It’s not only the material value that is lost; it
is the feeling of security as well. And stories like this, in addition to the
response of the authorities, do nothing to help us try get this sense of
security back. With almost every woman (and many men) carrying a bag, it may
feel as if we have to worry more than ever about being robbed.
A robbery in
daytime at 5pm in one of the busiest streets in Florence: was it just bad luck
or a negative sign for the city?
Sincerely, Carrie Chen
Dear Carrie,
I am very
sorry you have been the victim of this frightening crime. I can tell you,
however, that the data we have tells us that these incidents are on the decline
in Florence-though, of course, this kind of reassurance does not make what you
experienced any less upsetting.
In Italy,
responsibility for public safety falls to the State Police (the Polizia di
Stato), as does the job of responding for the behaviour of the officers with
whom you talked. For this reason, I would suggest you write to the Questura,
which is
the local
headquarters of the State Police in Florence. Nevertheless, at the city level,
I have taken steps to increase the presence of local police officers (Vigili
Urbani) on the streets, as I mentioned in my response to Eileen, above.
In addition
to this, we work every day to make our city more liveable and vivacious, with
an ever-improving civic sense among citizens, in order to bolster our community
against this type of antisocial behaviour.
Un saluto, Matteo
Those interested in writing
the mayor can send messages and comments via email to redazione@theflorentine.net, stating ‘Write the Mayor’ in the subject line of the email. Emails must clearly
state the author’s first name, surname, city and country of birth, and the city
and country of residence.
