Uprooting the Mafia: Italy Expands a Controversial Approach to Combat Organized Crime

One of Italy’s most prevalent societal dilemmas since the nineteenth century has been how to deal with organized crime. Italy’s infamous secret criminal societies, most notably the Sicilian Mafia (also known as Cosa Nostra), the Camorra in Naples, and the ‘Ndrangheta in Calabria, have posed significant threats to the safety of Italian citizens and the stability of Italy’s political and economic system for centuries. Organized crime in Italy and in the Italian diaspora in the United States has become trivialized and sensationalized by the entertainment industry, with a swath of films, television shows, and other media which depict organized Italian crime in a glorified, violent, and glossy style. However, these groups remain a significant issue for local government and law enforcement agencies across Italy, and a recent program, the “Free To Choose” initiative has reignited a discussion about the way the government can, and should, respond to organized crime.

The history of organized crime in Italy can be traced  back to the nineteenth century. The Sicilian Mafia is widely considered to have originated in the nineteenth century during Sicily's shift from feudalism to capitalism, accelerated by the island's unification with mainland Italy, as land redistribution created a surge in landowners from two thousand  in 1812 to twenty thousand by 1861. The early Mafia played a significant role in providing protection to vulnerable citrus growers and cattle ranchers due to the susceptibility of theft and sabotage within the industry, with the Mafia demonstrating higher success rates in recovering stolen cattle compared to the police. During Sicily's 1950s construction boom, the Mafia seized control of building contracts, obtaining substantial profits, while also expanding into large-scale heroin trafficking across Italy, Europe, and the United States. The origins of the Camorra, which may date back to the seventeenth century, saw its official recognition with a royal decree in 1735, while its main activities include drug trafficking, racketeering, counterfeiting, money laundering, cigarette smuggling, and political infiltration. The 'Ndrangheta, originating in Calabria in the 1890s, specializes in political corruption and cocaine trafficking; its influence has expanded globally since the 1950s, making it one of the wealthiest and most influential criminal organizations, involved in various illegal activities including drug trafficking, murder, and extortion.

The Italian government has used a variety of means to maintain the fight against these organizations. Beginning in the 1980s, legislative measures were initiated to combat organized crime in Italy, including the introduction of laws targeting mafia-type associations and political-mafia electoral exchange, the implementation of special prison regimes, and the establishment of bodies like the High Commissioner for coordinating the fight against mafia activity. In the 1990s, the efforts of magistrates such as Giovanni Falcone, Paolo Borsellino, and Antonino Caponnetto led to the creation of the Anti-Mafia Investigation Directorate and the National Anti-Mafia and Anti-Terrorism Directorate. These efforts culminated in Legislative Decree no. 59 of 2011, consolidating many anti-mafia provisions. Meanwhile, the Antimafia Pool, initiated by Judge Rocco Chinnici in the 1980s, united investigating magistrates to prosecute the Sicilian Mafia collectively, leading to the Maxi Trial from 1986 to 1992, which resulted in the conviction of hundreds of mafiosi. Similarly, the Spartacus Trial, directed against the Casalesi clan of the Camorra, saw significant legal action from 1998 to 2008, resulting in numerous convictions and heavy penalties for organized crime activities, despite facing threats and violence against those involved in prosecuting the case.

In 2012, Italy’s Ministry of Justice, namely the Department of Juvenile and Community Justice, launched the Free To Choose program in Calabria. The project sought to remove children from their mafia families and place them in foster care programs to break the cycle of criminal behavior between generations. Once authorities can prove to a court that the child is in danger due to their circumstances, they can forcefully remove the child from their parents’ custody and place them in foster care. In 2017, Italian organized crime expert Isaia Sales argued that “if Calabria stays Italy’s most underdeveloped region, it’ll keep having the most potent mafia, regardless of the families.” Additionally, some have described the program as being a “Nazi-like method” to tackle this issue. 

In March 2024, Free To Choose was expanded to other regions in Italy, such as Sicily and Naples. “This is a historic moment in the fight against the mafia,” said Carlo Nordio, Italy’s Minister of Justice, after the announcement of the program’s expansion. Eugenia Roccella, Italy’s Minister for Family, Natality, and Equal Opportunities has highlighted the role of women in the program’s success, with many mothers willingly leaving the mafia families with their children. Arguing against the common misconception that women are often a part of the organized crime programs themselves, Roccella said that “it is impossible for there to be forms of emancipation of women in this culture, which instead violates and destroys them.” 

In total, around one hundred and fifty children have been removed from their mafia families and placed in foster care in undisclosed locations across Italy for their safety – thirty mothers had chosen to follow their children, with seven choosing to become official state witnesses and testify against the organized crime organizations they had been a part of. While the program initially had detractors, it ultimately has become a major part of Italy’s broad approach to anti-Mafia policy.