FS Italiane and Polfer: “Be aware! Make a difference”
Rome, 15 July 2015
How to identify, prevent and avoid the tricks of the trade most-used in stations and on crowded trains not only by baggage thieves but also by unauthorised traders, con-artists and pick-pockets, above all when passengers are most distracted.
This is the main objective of BE AWARE! MAKE A DIFFERENCE, an information campaign supported by Gruppo FS Italiane and Railway Police. The second edition of this initiative begins today and will continue until 15 September.
Due to the huge success of the 2014 edition, once again this year passengers can find brochures with user-friendly and easy-to-understand graphics and specific signage in Italian, English, French, German, Russian, Spanish, Chinese and Japanese in larger Italian railway stations and on Trenitalia trains providing priceless tips on how to avoid unpleasant episodes on departure, on arrival and while travelling – above all in the year of Expo Milano 2015.
A large number of stations are involved in this initiative: all those on the High Speed network, including Rho Fiera Expo Milano 2015, stations in the Cinque Terre area and those in Bari, Genoa, Venice, Verona, Brescia, Bolzano, Udine, Vicenza, Trieste, Padua, Piacenza, Rimini, Ancona, Pescara, Foggia, Lecce, Taranto, Reggio Calabria, Malpensa, Fiumicino, Pisa Airport, Palermo, Villa San Giovanni, La Spezia and Lamezia Terme. Stickers bearing campaign messages will also be distributed and cartoons will be shown on monitors at large railway stations, the screens of self-service ticket machines, on Freccia and commuter trains, in ticket offices and in the 15 Trenitalia FrecciaClub Lounges.
Following the advice given through the BE AWARE! MAKE A DIFFERENCE campaign will ensure that millions of travellers can avoid becoming the victims of theft and fraud – above all in the summer.
There have been 1,130 thefts on trains and 1,957 in stations since the beginning of the year. On the whole over 700 people have been arrested by Railway Police and over 6,000 reported to Police Authorities. Over 91,000 security services have been provided in stations and 24,000 patrols carried out on trains, with over 52,000 trains escorted by Railway Police.
Gruppo FS Italiane Corporate Protection Director Franco Fiumara explained, “We wish to inform our customers of the standard behaviour adopted by people wishing to take advantage of their distraction with this BE AWARE! MAKE A DIFFERENCE campaign. Personal safety and protection on trains and in stations commences with small but significant precautions. We aim to make passengers more aware of people who try to approach them using their tricks of the trade through this information campaign – especially in the year of Expo Milano 2015 for which we are Official Global Rail Carrier. This attention, also thanks to intense work by Gruppo FS Italiane Corporate Protection officers and Railway Police officers, ensure a more tranquil, serene and safer journey to our customers.”
Railway Police Director Armando Nanei affirmed, “We aim to offer a security model in which the general public is not a spectator or victim but plays a leading role in security through this initiative. An informed, aware and careful traveller is less “vulnerable” and can help us make the lives of ill-intentioned people much more difficult. Railway Police work on the forefront every day to safeguard people travelling by train or generally passing-through stations, however the general public can undoubtedly be our first ally as far as prevention is concerned.”