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, Milan
Book Presentation: “Chaos. International Justice Under Attack” (Laterza, 2025) by Marcello Flores and Emanuela Fronza
Casa della Cultura – Via Borgogna 3, Milan
Corporate Criminal Liability and the Role of Restorative Justice in Environmental Offences
Aula OL.210 Diamante 1 – Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Via Olona 2, Milan
Space, Time and Duration in Legal Reality
Sala Marinucci – University of Milan, Via Festa del Perdono 3, MilanCentring the periphery. Towards youth-sensitive reparations in transitional justice in Ethiopia
The policy brief analyses the transitional justice system in Ethiopia, expressing the hope that it will adopt a reparative and transformative perspective that is sensitive to the needs of young people.
Monitor of Lethal Force in Latin America and the Caribbean. A Analysis of Killings by Police and Army
The volume Monitor of Lethal Force in Latin America and the Caribbean. An Analysis of Killings by Police and Army Officers, edited by Ignacio Cano, Catalina Pérez-Correa, and Carlos Silva examines the use and abuse of lethal force in eight Latin American countries, with the aim of addressing the persistent lack of information and independent investigations.
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.
