Non finanziare l'inganno
(Don't Fund Deception) Awareness campaign by the Lugano Police against aggressive begging.
The City of Lugano Police presented an awareness campaign in June 2023 against begging and in support of those truly in need, thanks to the collaboration with the Centro Bethlehem of the Fondazione Francesco.
The campaign, titled “Non finanziare l'inganno. Tira dritto e chiama la Polizia. Per chi ha bisogno gli aiuti ci sono!” ("Do not finance deceit. Keep walking and call the Police. For those in need, help is available!"), urged people to distinguish genuine need from deception and to avoid contributing to the financing of illegal and fraudulent activities.
Lugano, known for the generosity of its citizens, has faced an increase in the phenomenon of aggressive and organized begging. In particular, the city has observed the presence of individuals who, in most cases, cross the border daily to beg and fuel a system often linked to criminal networks.
The municipal police have observed in Lugano, as in other Swiss urban areas, a resurgence of the begging phenomenon, with increasingly aggressive behavior towards citizens, who feel harassed and express legitimate frustration with the situation. Often, the people most targeted for money requests are the most vulnerable or the elderly.
It has therefore become essential to be able to distinguish those who engage in harassing and illegal activities from those who are genuinely in need and must be helped. Lugano does not want to leave behind anyone who is truly in need, but it also aims to curb the growth of illegal phenomena in order to ensure that the population can live in a safe city.
The goals
The campaign set itself the objective, on the one hand, of warning citizens who, often to put an end to annoying acts, give in to the requests of beggars, thereby contributing to the strengthening of the phenomenon, and on the other hand, of reminding them of the concrete possibility of offering help to those who are truly in need. In this way, giving money to those who exploit the generosity of others to fuel organized crime will be avoided.
The chosen image is strong, and the warning, which invites people not to finance deceit, leaves no room for misunderstanding. However, the Lugano Police wanted to expressly emphasize the possibility of helping those in need: “Per chi ha davvero bisogno gli aiuti ci sono!”
The ultimate aim of this campaign, in fact, is not to discourage acts of generosity but to remind citizens how to effectively direct their benevolence.
Every citizen can and must make a difference by consciously and responsibly choosing to support high social value projects active in the area.
Collaboration with the Bethlehem Social Center
In the spaces created as part of the renovation of the Masseria in Cornaredo, the Centro sociale Bethlehem will be available every day to people in need, whether residents or passers-by. It will offer them the possibility of receiving a hot meal, taking a shower, depositing their personal belongings, and meeting other people. The Center does not receive public subsidies and is able to meet its financial commitments thanks to the support of private entities and the generosity of benefactors and citizens, thereby truly helping those in need.
With this campaign - which follows the one carried out in 2016 - the Lugano City Police, in collaboration with the Centro sociale Bethlehem of the Fondazione Francesco, wanted to highlight how generosity is and must remain a noble and genuine value, while seeking to prevent a group of dishonest people from taking advantage of it.
Let us therefore protect our generosity and help only those who truly need it.
The English version of this page was created with the aid of automatic translation tools and may contain errors and omissions.
The original version is the page in Italian.