Io Segnalo, and Then?

Adding this image long after the original post to show that things are changing.

A revolution is about to take place in the way citizens of Rome interact with the public administration and it is called “Io Segnalo” (I report). The mind behind the project is Commandante Raffaele Clemente, head of the capital’s Municipal Police (the ones who enforce traffic laws as well as various administrative policies, building codes, public space use, etc. while the Polizia and Carabinieri concentrate on felonies).  The goal is to make it easy for any citizen, including foreign visitors, to register complaints and insert valuable data directly into the city’s crime prevention system.

The list of violations ranges from illegal parking to potholes, from illegal dumping to abandoned vehicles, from public disturbances to tax evasion by vendors. Some complaints will result in immediate interventions, while others will go into a database which will aid the administration in pinpointing problems.

Great, Sustainable Rome fully supports this.

Under one condition. That Commandante Clemente take steps to ensure that the Polizia Municipale do two things:

1.  set a positive example by respecting the law, disciplining any members of the force that commit violations, a rare occurrence of course but still unacceptable.

2.  by acting to apply the laws being violated under their own noses, sotto i propri occhi, every day!

There should be no opposition between “vigili” and “citizens” but rather a mutual respect for those who behave civilly and a common intolerance for uncivil behavior.

Today, per assurdo, a citizen can send hundreds of segnalazioni a day of violations taking place outside the windows of Municipal Police headquarters.  A new system to denounce violations will work better when the violations are the exception to the rule, not the rule.  Right now, it would be like hiring someone to wash dishes in a busy restaurant and then asking the diners to provide a list and description of their dirty plates.

We’re happy to help out to do our part.  All we ask is accountability. Accountability. To be “accountable.”  It’s in the dictionary.

accountable |əˈkountəbəl| adjective1 (of a person, organization, or institution) required or expected to justify actions or decisions; responsible: government must be accountable to its citizens | parents could be held accountable for their children‘s actions.