Mafia and organised crime in Italy: The unacknowledged successes of law enforcement

Analysing the phenomenon of the mafia and organised crime in Italy as well as the related control policies, it is evident that, although unacknowledged by the media, policy-making and law enforcement communities, significant successes have been achieved in the fight against the mafia since the early 1990s. As a result of these successes, the Sicilian Cosa Nostra and, to a lesser extent, all other forms of southern Italian organised crime have entered a period of serious crisis. This does not mean that the Sicilian mafia is defeated or that the law enforcement repression should be relaxed.