(EMAILWIRE.COM, July 19, 2009 ) Campania, Italy - The city of Naples in Southern Italy is trying something rather drastic in a bid to keep tourists safe from street crime and the Mafia – and employing the old ‘if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em’ mentality – by enlisting former prisoners to act as tour guides and escort them around the city…

More than 70 former prisoners have been signed up to the scheme - called the Escodentro Project - which was felt necessary due to the notoriously dangerous traffic in the city and the abundance of pickpockets.

The ex-cons will help tourists watch out for the bag snatchers and they will also offer basic security advice to all visitors, such as removing any items of expensive looking jewellery and keeping wallets and valuables in a hidden place.

Corrado Gabriele, the official from the Campania region who came up with the idea, summed up the reasoning behind it.

“Who better knows the risks of this town?” he said.

The prisoners will all wear yellow jackets and carry ID cards, and will warn tourists against venturing into some of the city’s more unsafe areas, such as the Spanish Quarter, in which pick-pocketing is rife.

The creative scheme is being jointly funded by Campania and the European Union and is intended to help remove Naples’ ‘edgy reputation.’

As well as helping the tourists, the scheme also helps ex-cons adjust to life back on the outside and helps them to hone their people skills.

Unsurprisingly, some visitors and tourism bods are not so positive about the prospect. There have already been some teething problems, such as some visitors complaining that the manner of the former prisoners is too brusque.

Meanwhile, the local tourism commission is worried that the idea of ex-cons acting as tour guides may actually put people off visiting. They are also concerned that the new guides won’t have the people skills necessary to act as ambassadors for the city.

The scheme has already had one major problem – the new guides went on strike following one of their members being given a ticket for jaywalking (crossing the street in a place other than at a designated crossing point).

This has been named as just one of the issues facing these guides as they attempt their reintegration into society.

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