Italy's interior ministry says serial bomb threat emails are unreliable, limits evacuations

What the circular says

Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi has sent a circular to prefects and police chiefs (questori) after a wave of false bomb alarms arrived by email. The directive sets out how authorities should judge threats that arrive in bulk. The stated aim is twofold: protect people, and stop messages without concrete danger from emptying schools, public offices and essential services. The measures cover schools, infrastructure and essential services, and the wave of threats hit Italian schools in particular. The directive also calls for a preventive survey of potentially exposed sites.

When a threat counts as unreliable

The central test is the serial nature of a threat. Messages that are identical or substantially similar, come from the same source and are sent indiscriminately to many recipients are to be treated as unreliable. The circular states this directly:

“A threat that presents a manifestly serial character is to be considered unreliable.”

Seriality does not automatically rule out real danger. Threats must still be promptly reported to police and checked. The circular lists suspicious objects, anomalies flagged by video surveillance, earlier incidents, and information tied to a specific target as elements that could justify further action. It presents these only as examples, and it adds the presence of other concrete circumstances that call for stronger protection.

Evacuations and police response

Where elements make a threat plausible, the questore may order the checks considered appropriate and any other measure needed to ensure adequate safety. Activities should continue where interrupting them is not indispensable. The circular assigns the evacuation decision in steps, starting with the questore. The text says:

“Only where deemed necessary, will propose to the prefect the evacuation of the structure or site concerned.”

Evacuation therefore becomes a measure weighed against the circumstances, not an automatic result of receiving an email. The principle behind the approach is that interventions should be proportionate to the actual conditions of risk.

Site checks and national coordination

The directive provides for a preventive survey of buildings and sites that could be exposed to such threats, including schools, infrastructure and essential services. At national level, the Public Security Department will handle information liaison with local offices through the Situation Centre (Centro Situazioni), which operates around the clock. The purpose is to share reports quickly and help assess whether a threat is credible. The coordination is meant to keep a single mass-sent message from disrupting schools, public offices and essential services.