2023-05-16 17:37:41
Time.news – Thefts committed in Italy have decreased by 38% in the last decade, going from over 1.5 million in 2013 to around 958 thousand in 2022. The same trend has also characterized the incidence which, after the peak recorded in 2014 with 2,607 thefts per 100,000 inhabitants, has dropped to a value of 1,622 thefts per 100,000 inhabitants in 2022.
These are the main results of the “Report on the attacks on ATMs of banks and post offices and on petrol station OPTs” conducted by Ossif, the ABI Research Center on Anti-Crime Security, and by the Criminal Analysis Service of the Central Directorate of the Criminal Police, with the participation of Poste Italiane, Unem and Italiana Petroli and presented today during the Banks and Security 2023 conference, the two days of work on key security issues.
In more detail, also the trend of the total number of attacks on ATMs and banknote acceptors at petrol stations (OPT – Outdoor Payment Terminals) shows a decreasing trend. In particular, in 2021 the overall attacks more than halved compared to 2020 and also in 2022 (382 episodes) a further reduction was recorded (-8.8%).
The positive data of the last two years have characterized all three different types of crime (attacks on ATMs of banks, post offices and attacks on OPTs) which, precisely in 2021 and 2022, recorded the lowest values ever, both in absolute terms and in relation to the number of operating points.
With reference to attacks on ATMs alone, the report shows a prevalence of failed episodes, which in recent years have shown continuous growth in percentage terms. In 2022, in particular, only one out of three attacks on ATMs was completed. In recent years, then, there has also been a significant reduction in the total amount stolen which, considering the attacks on ATMs of banks and post offices, fell from over 20 million euros in 2016 to 3.7 in 2022. attacks on ATMs carried out with the use of explosives represented the prevailing mode of execution.
Last year, these attacks accounted for 52.3% of the overall ones, a percentage that grows to 60.2% considering only the attacks on bank ATMs. This is followed by the episodes involving the break-in of the ATM and the removal of the equipment. Similarly, attacks on OTPs at petrol stations also take place in an ‘aggressive’ manner. Attacks involving knocking down or uprooting the terminal have ceased, since 2016 those involving cutting/disassembling the banknote reader and subsequent suction/capture of the banknotes contained inside the terminal have become ‘fashionable’. Since the second half of 2020, on the other hand, there has been a resurgence of attacks by means of shock action with mechanical means, with a concentration of the phenomenon in some regions of the North. The phenomenon concerned the type of unmanned point of sale with 24-hour sales in self-service mode, without the presence of the manager, extra-urban, mainly located on state roads.
Finally, according to the report, last year more than half of the attacks on ATMs and OTPs occurred in just four regions: Lombardy (71 episodes), Emilia-Romagna (48), Lazio (41) and Piedmont (39). The decline in attacks characterized overall 8 regions including Puglia, where the episodes have more than halved (-61%).
“On the subject of security – said the Director General of ABI Giovanni Sabatini – the action of ABI to implement the relationship with the security authorities (Department of Public Security, Prefectures, Police Forces) has made it possible to achieve, in close collaboration, joint initiatives that have facilitated the fight against bank robberies and thefts, as well as other forms of crime, at the same time making it easier to approach security issues, through the involvement of the authorities in charge in prevention strategies. the role of OSSIF (the Observatory for Physical Security, ed) in terms of management of data and information that is collected in a special anti-crime database, which is proving to be increasingly essential in guiding choices in the respective activities of strengthening security, territorial control and investigative measures”.
“The collaborative relationship between the Department of Public Safety and the Italian Banking Association, consolidated over time, also through the Central Criminal Police Directorate – explained Stefano Delfini, Director of the Criminal Analysis Service – is increasingly extensive and targeted and represents a excellence in the European panorama. It allows data, elements of analysis and risk assessment to be available with a timeliness that is uncommon in other countries. Through participation in OSSIF, it is in fact an effective synergy was created to the exchange of data relating to predatory crimes to the detriment not only of banks, but also of other operators and economic subjects and has made it possible to develop over time new forms of prevention and contrast to widespread crime. The constant, tendential decrease in predatory crime in this area, as well as testifying to the validity of the efforts made, represents an additional incentive to continue this collaborative commitment”.
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