Crime dropped 64 percent from March 1 through March 20, compared to the same period last year, according to statistics published this week by the Italian Interior Ministry.
Not unexpectedly, with everyone in their homes, there was a significant decline in house break-ins. Distancing measures have also meant a decrease in pickpocketing, down 75.8 percent from last March, and prostitution has dropped. Drug offenses also declined.
Online fraud has increased, however, according the Interior Ministry report, with fake fund-raising websites popping up and sites selling masks and other products at astronomical markups.
Police officers have been busy monitoring the streets, to make sure anyone outdoors has a good reason. Since the lockdown began on March 11, nearly 2.7 million people have been stopped by police and 115,000 fined.
Reporting was contributed by Donald G. McNeil Jr., Maya Salam, John Eligon, Amy Qin, Marc Santora, Megan Specia, Elian Peltier, Raphael Minder, Jason Horowitz, Fabio Bucciarelli, Nikita Stewart, Michael Crowley, Lara Jakes, Jesse Drucker, Carl Hulse, Emily Cochrane, Steven Lee Myers, Matina Stevis-Gridneff, Steven Erlanger, Caitlin Dickerson, Annie Correal and Neil MacFarquhar.