Illegal drugs and socio-economic changes in a new pivotal region: a court judgements perspective

This article is written by Anna Bussu, Domenica Giovanna Dettori, Maria Gabriella Ladu and Manuela Pulina, and published by Humanities and Social Sciences Communications.

Here’s to read the article. 

Thursday, 24th of September 2024

 Archaeological Museum, Olbia

On Thursday 24th of September at 11.00 am at the Archaeological Museum of Olbia the literary review “Sul filo del discorso”, organised by the Simpliciana Public Library and the Culture Department, hosted the presentation of the volume “Happiness is no longer here. Drug trafficking in Sardinia”, edited by Antonietta Mazzette, latest book of the Social Observatory on Development and Crime in Sardinia (OSCRIM) of the University of Sassari.

The event opened with the greetings of the mayor of Olbia Settimo Nizzi, followed by the presentation of the volume by Gianni Caria, Magistrate of the Public Prosecutor's Office of Sassari, and speeches from Daniele Pulino and Sara Spanu, researchers of the University of Sassari and members of the OSCRIM research team.

The presentation ended with the speech by the head of OSCRIM and editor of the volume, Antonietta Mazzette.

Here’s to read the report of the event

Here’s to the gallery of the event

Click here to watch the interviews with the head of OSCRIM and editor of the volume, Antonietta Mazzette, and the researchers of the University of Sassari and members of the OSCRIM research team, Daniele Pulino and Sara Spanu.

THURSDAY, THE 9th OF MAY, 16.00 – 19.00 PM – AULA MAGNA OF THE UNIVERSITY OF SASSARI

All the latest National and European official reports describe a strongly growing narcotics market, which has not showed signs of stopping, not even during the Covid-19 health emergency outbreak. This growth has also been detected by the Social Observatory on Development and Crime in Sardinia (OSCRIM) of the University of Sassari, which has constantly been monitoring the ongoing trend in the island territory in the last two decades and that has been leading the multidisciplinary team of researchers to study the dynamics of the narcotics production, trafficking and dealing universe.

The latest volume “Happiness is no longer here. Drug trafficking in Sardinia” (edited by Professor Antonietta Mazzette) completes this long journey of research and serves as a starting point for the OSCRIM in the seminar “Is the narcotics market in Sardinia an emergency? To know, to control and to communicate”, hosted by the University of Sassari on the 9th of May at 16.00 pm at the Aula Magna of the university. The main purpose of the seminar is to create an opportunity for discussion with academics and experts on the topics of the drug emergency prevention, control, and communication.

The seminar will start with an introduction by the scientific coordinator of the Observatory Professor Antonietta Mazzette, followed by the institutional greetings.

The journalist Giacomo Mameli will coordinate the meeting with speeches from the Director of the Degree Course in Public Communication and Information Professions Camillo Tidore, the President of the Association of Journalists Francesco Birocchi, the Sociologist of the University of Cagliari Carlo Colloca, the Deputy Public Prosecutor of Cagliari Gilberto Ganassi, and Daniela Scano, journalist from “La Nuova Sardegna”.

The authors of the volume and members of the OSCRIM research team, Giampiero Branca, Romina Deriu, Domenica Dettori, Daniele Pulino and Sara Spanu, will also participate in the following speeches.

The director Sante Maurizi will be reading passages about life stories from the book.

The initiative is among the events of the ‘Maggio della Comunicazione’, organised by the Public Communication and Information Professions Degree Course of the History, Human Sciences and Education Department of the University of Sassari. Students of the L-20 course will be recognized with 1 CFU for the attendance of the seminar. The event is accredited by the Order of Journalists of Sardinia and the Bar Association of Sassari.

Here’s to watch the event on the unisstube channel

Here’s to watch Videolina report

In her Master’s thesis Sofia Cheratzu, graduate of the University of Sassari, investigates the relationship between local crime and mafia organizations, by means of employing the OSCRIM studies as institutional sources in order to “trace the dynamics of Sardinian crime”.

Amongst the various topics present, there are some questions arising, such as whether there are any “elements of discontinuation”, what is the “overall structure that local criminal organizations assume nowadays” in order to “assess if the ‘Sardinian immunity’ theory can still be considered valid in regard to infiltrations and mafia-like attitudes”.

Here’s to read an excerpt from the thesis.

The “(In)sicurezze” episode of Zazà - Meridione cultura società radio program on Rai Radio 3 addressed the data published by the Sole 24ore newspaper on the Italian Regions’ crime and security. Sara Spanu provided insights on the latest trends currently characterising Sardinian crime.

Click here to listen to the interview

The OSCRIM is a partner of the ‘In Youth we trust’ project funded by the PNRR Agency for Territorial Cohesion, which aims to create a system of services in order to contrast educational poverty and to promote social inclusion of the under-age children and their families. This method is primarily based on the involvement of the social actors, on the continuity and in taking charge of the beneficiaries by a multidisciplinary team with the purpose of ensuring a more formative and social impact.

The OSCRIM coordinates the ‘Laboratories of Legality’ in the Latte Dolce and Santa Maria di Pisa secondary schools with the aim of spreading a greater knowledge and awareness in youth of criminal phenomena related to violence and drug trafficking, their importance and effects in terms of legality, compliance with the rules and coexistence. 

The project’s activities concern the promotion of the culture of legality, operational strategies to combat the drop-out and early school leaving issue and actions against cyberbullying among minors between 11 and 17 years old. 

Other participants are: Impresa Sociale Nuovi Scenari (proposing subject); Margherita di Castelvì Hish School (Sassari); Giffoni Innovation Hub; Drone Experience; Giffoni for kids; “Farina - San Giuseppe” Comprehensive School (Sassari); “La botte e il cilindro” Theater Company (Sassari); “Sapere Aude” Social Cooperative (Sassari); the Cagliar Juvenile Justice Centre (Sassari branch offices); Councillorship to “Servizi sociali e Politiche della casa” of the municipality of Sassari.

What is the impact of the drugs market on the development of Sardinia? This is the question around which the Social Observatory on the Development and Crime in Sardinia (OSCRIM) aims to initiate a public discussion on the 16th of November at 16.00 in the Aula Magna of the University of Sassari, starting from the latest book published by the OSCRIM, “L’Isola sotterranea. Tra violenza e narcomercato” (FrancoAngeli 2022)

The volume focuses on violent criminal phenomena and the drugs market by identifying the overlapping of legal and illegal markets typical of some criminal groups operating in Sardinian territory. 

The curator of the book, Antonietta Mazzette, along with Manuela Pulina, representative of the OSCRIM economic area, will introduce the various participants’ speeches the Sassari Public Prosecutor Gianni Caria, the Coordinator of Tavolo Parti Sociali Nord Ovest Sardegna Pierluigi Ledda, jurist and President of the Special Anti-Corruption Commission of the Chamber of Deputies in the XIII Legislature Giovanni Meloni, the Minister of the Interior and President of the Bicameral Anti-Mafia Commission in the XVI Legislature Giuseppe Pisanu, and Stefano Rebechesu, Provincial Commander of the Guardia di Finanza of Sassari.

The seminar will be preceded by a debate on how to study crime with a comparison between the OSCRIM research team (Giampiero Branca, Daniele Pulino, Sara Spanu, Camillo Tidore) and Anna Maria Zaccaria and Stefano D’Alfonso, prominent members of the Mafias and Corruption Laboratory (Laboratorio su Mafie e Corruzione, LIRMaC) from the University of Naples Federico II, research centre which studies and track organised criminal phenomena in the Campania region. 

The event is a part of the “Settimana della Sociologia” national initiatives and will be coordinated by the journalist and writer Giacomo Mameli. 

Beginning with the institutional greetings of Gavino Mariotti, Magnifico Rettore of the University of Sassari, the president of the Public Communication and Information Professions Degree Course Romina Deriu, and Giuseppe Conti, President of the Council of the Bar Association of Sassari.

The attendance of the seminar students of the Public Communication and Information Professions Degree Course (L20)  will receive 1 CFU and 3 CFU on criminal law subjects by the Council of the Bar Association of Sassari.

Download the flyer of the event here

The Social Observatory on Development and Crime in Sardinia (OSCRIM) website has been translated by Silvia Rizzi