Dog killers in San Marino, interview with Secretary Tonnini: “Changes to the Criminal Code so that the guilty party pays”
The issue is deeply felt by the population, also because in so many years and after so many poisonings, the culprit has not been identified. To take stock of the situation, we interviewed the Secretary of State for Internal Affairs Elena Tonnini.
How are you following the affair as head of the Interior?
“The contact of the internal direct Secretariat is naturally with the Civil Police Command through which we keep ourselves informed in order to deepen the evolution of the investigations and the ways in which the attacks are perpetrated. In fact, it is not excluded that there are several subjects involved. The Civil Police, in turn, works in collaboration with the other Police Corps and in particular with the Gendarmerie which has a specific contact person on the case of the dog killer “.
How can we deal with this sense of impunity and injustice that winds among citizens given that after 10 years and after the death of killings, no culprits have been identified?
“It is necessary that the population does not make the sense of frustration prevail, which is human and absolutely understandable, but that they consider the police as an ally and a precious point of reference. It will seem trivial, but even just alerting one of the bodies and filing a complaint has a very important value because allowing the agents to promptly, go to the specific point, monitor the area, collect clues and testimonies. Consider for example that, in some cases, the authorities learned the news of the poisoned morsel from social networks when no one had filed a complaint.
Without a complaint from the person who made the discovery of the morsel, the inspection in an extensive park such as that of Montecerreto risks being fruitless.: it means looking for exactly the point where the bite was found, without any information regarding the paths followed or with respect to other possible clues.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank, in addition to the Police Corps, the Civil Protection and the Veterinary Health Unit of the ISS, also the APAS which continues the awareness initiatives “.
What tools do law enforcement have at their disposal compared to 10 ago and what intentions to further provide?
“First of all it should be remembered that in the last ten years the tools available to the Police have evolved, generically speaking. Think for example of the Joint Operations Center which unites the operations of the three Corps and has become the only point of reference for citizens for reporting (the importance of timely reporting returns here); or even think about how many cameras have been installed on the territory from 2012 to today.
Compared to these tools, the most recent and most dedicated innovations to the case in question consist in the activation of further “forces in the field” for area monitoring, i volunteers of the Civil Protection who have collaborated, even after the last episode, with the Police Corps.
With regard to the need to increase the staff within the Corps, I have already had occasion to recall how the delegated decree 159/2021 on recruiting in the police forces opened a new phase of shared path between the three Corps for the entry of new agents, recruited according to homogeneous requirements. The course-competition is currently taking place, therefore the training course will end with a competition that will allow the access of new recruits within the police, and which will therefore be even more present in the area.
The latest news regarding the work ofCanine Unit of the Civil Police that is trying to train one of the dogs to recognize the smell of poisoned morsels. Not an easy task because it is the only occasion in which the dog should operate, for his safety. This would make it possible to increase the effectiveness of the remediation activities of the areas. But it is an experiment and we are not yet able to state with certainty what results it will bring anyway.
Finally, just to give an answer to the needs mentioned above, one is being studied draft law decree which will be examined shortly by the Congress of State, which places the emphasis on possession and improper use of harmful substances, on the reporting obligations and on the procedure to follow in the event of the discovery of a dead or suffering animal due to suspected poisoning. The text was shared with the Veterinary UOS of the ISS, the UGRAA, the Police Corps and the State Advocacy “.
In 2013, at the time of the filing of the first complaints, the RETE movement proposed a parliamentary commission of inquiry. Do you think it can still be a valid tool today?
“At the time it could have made sense also because many of the tools that law enforcement officers use today did not exist. In all fairness even our penal code has some shortcomings which so far had not been addressed. It is no coincidence that we have in the draft decree in progress inserted a modification of the penal code, agreed with the State Attorney, so that the poisoning of animals that causes their suffering, injury or death, falls within the case of maltreatment and is therefore prosecuted. This is to avoid the risk that, once the culprit is identified, the same goes unpunished. On the part of the institutions, the alert and the will to proceed together in order not to waste energy and systematize the information collected, are shared. The collaboration of the population is crucial. Of course, the political groups have the power to investigate and propose the proposals they deem appropriate.
I would like once again to invite anyone who witnesses an episode of suspected animal poisoning, a report it promptly to a veterinarian and to the Joint Forces Operations Center, active 24 hours a day, al number 0549 888888 ″.
Davide Giardi