The recent weakening of some key services of the Municipal Police of Messina, such as those of Annona, Accident and Environmental, is giving rise to controversy and doubts. City councilor Libero Gioveni, group leader of Fratelli d’Italia, expressed his disappointment and presented a question to the municipal police councilor, Antonio Cicala, on the reasons for these internal transfers. According to Gioveni, in order to strengthen the traffic service – to control traffic and road violations, such as double parking – several officers have been transferred from other departments. A choice that the city councilor only partially understands, given that, if on the one hand the value of an increase in the presence of agents in the area is undoubted, on the other, the reduction of staff in strategic sectors risks leaving equally crucial areas uncovered for the city.
“While recognizing the importance of the road service – declares Gioveni – other functions cannot be neglected, such as surveillance against environmental crimes and monitoring of irregular economic activities. Moving agents from the Environmental Department or from Annona could represent a threat to the effectiveness of controls in areas that often require collaboration with the Prosecutor’s Office”. According to Gioveni, in fact, reducing staff in sectors such as the Environmental Department inhibits the possibility of monitoring and sanction those who pollute and deface the territory, threatening environmental safety and urban decorum. It is not only a question of priority, but also of timing. As the councilor underlines, we are not in a period of traffic emergency, as it may be be during the Christmas holidays or the summer peaks of the counter-exodus, when traffic intensifies considerably. Therefore, the recent movements of agents appear, according to the councilor, “not very appropriate” and should be carefully re-evaluated to future developments: with the entry into service of the 120 new municipal agents in the coming months, there will be the possibility to redistribute resources and fill current gaps. However, in the immediate future, Gioveni believes that it is “risky” to leave departments that require specific attention uncovered, and has announced the request for a hearing with councilor Cicala in