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– It’s like “having a thief in your family”, says the deputy mayor of the small Italian island of Capraia. Like the Guardian reports he refers to dozens of thefts on the island during the winter, a time when only about 400 residents live. Unfortunately, the small population also applies to the police, which has a total of three officers. The crimes seem to be well planned. In the most recent version, the thieves disabled a security camera in a tobacconist and got out of the safe with over $ 70,000. On another job – perhaps one from the inside – they broke into Deputy Mayor Fabio Mazzei’s house and stole his safe, along with hidden jewelry. “They hit on the right day because they knew I was going to visit Pisa,” he told a local newspaper. “They knew the house very well.”
The island population usually multiplies during the summer tourist season, but in this case the thieves seem to have flipped the usual playbook by going after locals rather than visitors. One factor: The island’s only bank closed last year, forcing people to keep their money at home. Capraia is one of the seven islands that make up the Tuscan archipelago, the New York Times, which last year (in pre-pandemic days) sang the praises of a restored 16th-century fortress on the island as a holiday rental. The island is actually closer to the French island of Corsica than mainland Italy and can only be reached by boat. Mayor Mardi Bessi says the island’s three officers are doing their best. “The risk now is that the sense of community that we always have will be affected,” said the mayor. (Read more stories about Italy.)