Research
Observatory on criminal and security legislation
The Observatory is developing a continuously updated database to track the numbers, types, content, and overall scope of punitive legislative acts passed by the Italian legislature. Additionally, it aims to publish an annual report on the evolution of criminal and security legislation in Italy.
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The Use of Force and Its Limits in the Penitentiary Context
The research, funded through PSR grants by the University of Milan, aims to explore the challenges surrounding the use of force in the prison system by gathering the experiences and perspectives of prison staff.
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The Determinants of Urban Security Policies
The project aims to identify the reasons behind the rise of increasingly punitive security policies over the past thirty years. Specifically, it empirically examines bottom-up models (policies as a response to citizen demands) and top-down models (policies as a tool used by elites to shape public opinion) to determine which is more explanatory of the Italian context.
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Police and Youth with Migrant Backgrounds in the San Siro District of Milan
The study investigates the relationship between young people with a migrant background and the police through a mixed-method research approach in the San Siro district of Milan.
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Authoritarianisms in Democracy
Casa della Cultura – Via Borgogna 3, MilanConstructing ‘Victim-Centred Peace’: The Contribution of the International Criminal Court’s Reparations to Victims in the Al-Mahdi Case in Timbuktu
The article explores how ICC reparations in the Al-Mahdi case contributed to building a “victim-centred peace” in Timbuktu. The concept is examined through justice, material restoration, and victims’ satisfaction, highlighting the tangible impact of reparative measures.
National Study Day “Punishing Young People”
Registrations are now open for the National Study Day “Punishing Young People”, taking place on Friday, May 22, 2026, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Padua Correctional Facility.
Surveillance Evangelism: Private Technology Companies and the Digital Futures of Crimmigration Control
The article examines how private security companies act as “surveillance evangelists”, promoting future visions of digital technologies for crimmigration control. These speculative imaginaries ideologically normalize border control and reflect postcolonial hierarchies in the construction of technical expertise.
Women in Policing: Pioneering Experiences in Contemporary Italy
The book Donne in polizia. Esperienze di avanguardia nell’Italia contemporanea (il Mulino, 2026) by Rossella Selmini explores the entry and role of women in the Italian police forces, a field historically dominated by men.
“I Don’t Believe You Anymore”. The eighth report by Associazione Antigone on juvenile justice in Italy
The eighth report by Associazione Antigone on juvenile justice in Italy, titled “Io non ti credo più” (“I Don’t Believe You Anymore”), examines the current state of the juvenile criminal justice system and the transformations it has undergone in recent years. Through the analysis of official data, monitoring activities, and direct observation in Juvenile Detention Centers (IPM), the report reconstructs the evolution of the system, offering an updated overview of detention conditions, institutional practices, and the main critical issues that have emerged within these facilities.
Comments&Opinions
The case of the ‘Weekend Snipers’ in Sarajevo and violence as a consumable practice
Reflecting on the Commodification of Violence: The Case of the ‘Weekend Snipers’.
Violence and security in the favelas of Rio De Janeiro: between failed policies and “bare life”
In Rio de Janeiro, a comprehensive reform of public security and law enforcement is urgently required, one that enables authorities to operate without resorting to militarized strategies, which, as demonstrated over the years, have consistently proven ineffective for both the safety of police officers and the civilian population of the favelas. Drawing on an analysis of the large-scale police operation carried out on October 28, 2025, in the Latin American metropolis, this article aims to offer a critical reflection on intervention strategies in areas controlled by armed groups, highlighting their limitations, social impacts, and the need for structural reform.
Twenty-Five Years On: The European Society of Criminology at a Crossroads Between Past and Future
From 3 to 6 September 2023, the 25th Conference of the European Society of Criminology took place in Athens, bringing together over 2,300 participants. While it was expected to be a celebration of the Society’s twenty-fifth anniversary, it was instead marked by dissatisfaction and tension, prompting deeper questions about the association’s representativeness, its democratic standards, and its ability to renew itself by giving voice to the new generations of criminologists.
Preventing Violence Against Women Between Compulsory Health Assessments and Public Shaming
The two central components of the Italian Bill 1517 reveal a profound sense of collective disorientation in the face of male violence against women. The legislative response appears to be an expressive and performative one, oscillating between preventive medical punishment and public shaming—offering little room for the layered, nuanced approaches that this deeply sensitive area of intervention requires.
