I saw the video the other day and nearly cheered. A bunch of tourists near Venice's Rialto Bridge have had enough of the local scrote trying to lift a wallet. They pile on him, pin the bloke to the ground, yank his arms behind his back and start going through his pockets while they wait for the cops. Proper old-school citizen's arrest, no faffing about with rights or safe spaces.
This wasn't some random tourist having a bad day. The suspect is a well-known repeat offender round those parts, with a rap sheet that includes theft, assault, battery and even public indecency. The sort of character authorities have been aware of for years. Yet there he was again on 18 July, allegedly targeting East Asian visitors who probably didn't even speak much English.
Enter Monica Poli. The Venice city councillor, famous for her no-nonsense anti-pickpocket activism, heard the commotion and waded in. She lifted the man off the ground when he called out to her for help, told everyone to calm down and get the police. As the Daily Mail reported from its own video footage, she stepped in before things got uglier. Sensible enough. But her frustration was clear. She later told Corriere del Veneto she'd reported the same suspect multiple times over a decade with bugger all changing.
The wallet was never found, of course. The man was carted off but you get the distinct impression he'll be back at it soon enough. Poli reckoned the victims were probably Korean and communication was a nightmare because their English wasn't up to much. Imagine travelling halfway round the world for a dream trip to Venice only to have some career thief ruin it.
When bystanders do what the state won't
There's something telling about this clip. Ordinary people, on holiday no less, exercising a bit of personal responsibility instead of filming it for TikTok and hoping someone else sorts it. They didn't wait for a diversity coordinator or a sensitivity trainer. They saw a wrong being done and stopped it. Contrast that with the average British high street where shoplifters stroll out with armfuls of goods while staff are told not to intervene and police response times stretch into hours.
We've sleepwalked into a culture that treats victims as inconveniences and criminals as misunderstood. Repeat offenders rack up dozens of cautions, community resolutions and suspended sentences while the rest of us bolt our doors earlier and avoid certain towns after dark. Venice has the same problem, clearly, but at least some locals and visitors are willing to push back in the moment.