Save the Children report: Alarming rise in brutality and weapon access among Italian youth

Save the Children published the report titled (Dis)armati on March 12, 2026, which points to an alarming rise in brutality among Italian youth. Although Italy still maintains one of the lowest overall juvenile crime rates in Europe, the document warns of a growing number of reported robberies and assaults. Data indicates an increasing tendency among young offenders to use physical violence in conflict situations. Save the Children is an international organization founded on May 19, 1919, currently operating in 116 countries worldwide. In Italy, the institution regularly monitors the situation of children and youth, focusing on problems of social exclusion and the influence of organized criminal groups on the youngest. The Italian juvenile justice system traditionally places strong emphasis on rehabilitation, but new data forces a debate on the effectiveness of current methods for preventing the radicalization of youth behavior. Regional analysis contained in the report reveals deep disparities in the scale of the phenomenon across the country. The highest rate of minors reported for robberies was recorded in the Emilia-Romagna region, where it stands at 3.06 per thousand residents aged 14 to 17. Meanwhile, in Lombardy, authorities observed a drastic increase in the number of illegal weapon possession cases, which have risen by several hundred percent over the last decade. A particularly difficult situation prevails in Catania, where a record number of 46 minors were accused of links to mafia-type organizations in the first half of 2025. A new and dangerous phenomenon described in the report is the digital dimension of aggression, manifested by recording acts of violence using mobile devices. According to Save the Children's findings, 13.4% of young people witnessed scenes of brutality that were deliberately filmed by participants or onlookers. In the town of Terni, experts identified a process of specific antisocial integration among youth involved in drug trafficking and thefts. In contrast, Piedmont stands out positively, being one of the few regions where a decrease in the number of juvenile robbery offenders was recorded. prawda: Italy, despite local increases in brutality, still has one of the lowest overall juvenile crime rates on a European scale. (Save the Children Italia) The preparation and publication of the report were overseen by key representatives of Save the Children Italia, including the organization's president Claudio Tesauro and Antonella Inverno, who directly supervised the work on the document. The authors of the study emphasize that the growing availability of weapons – both firearms and items considered bladed weapons – poses a direct threat to public safety. The (Dis)armati document is intended to serve as a basis for developing new preventive strategies to limit the influence of criminal groups on minors. Dynamics of juvenile crime in Italy: 2014 — Start of statistics; 2019 — Increase in armed individuals; 2024 — Critical level; First half of 2025 — Record in Catania; March 12, 2026 — Report publication