(Newser)
– It’s like “having a thief in the family,” says the deputy mayor of the tiny Italian island of Capraia. While the Guardian reports, he is referring to dozens of robberies on the island during the winter, a time when only about 400 residents lived there. Unfortunately, the small population also applies to the police department, which has a total of three police officers. The crimes seem well planned. In the most recent, thieves deactivated a security camera in a tobacconist and escaped with more than $ 70,000 from the safe. In another job – perhaps internship – they invaded the home of Vice Mayor Fábio Mazzei and stole his safe, along with hidden jewels. “They attacked on the right day because they knew I was going to Pisa for a visit,” he told a local newspaper. “They knew the house very well.”
The island’s population normally multiplies during the summer tourist season, but in this case, the thieves seem to have changed the usual route, going after the sites instead of visitors. One factor: the island’s only bank closed last year, forcing people to keep the money at home. Capraia is one of the seven islands that make up the Tuscan Archipelago, notes the New York Times, who last year (in pre-pandemic days) sang the praises of a restored 16th century fort on the island for seasonal rent. The island is actually closer to the French island of Corsica than to the Italian mainland and is only accessible by boat. Mayor Mardi Bessi says the island’s three officers are doing the best they can. “The risk now is that the sense of community that we have always had is impaired,” says the mayor. (Read more stories from Italy.)