section_path: Governance/National and public security/Crime
section_name: Crime
paragraph_text: Crime
  
  Crime in Vatican City consists largely of purse snatching, pickpocketing and shoplifting by outsiders. The tourist foot-traffic in St Peter's Square is one of the main locations for pickpockets in Vatican City. If crimes are committed in the square, the perpetrators may be arrested and tried by the Italian authorities, since that area is normally patrolled by Italian police.
  
  Under the Lateran Treaty, Italy will, at the request of the Holy See, punish individuals for crimes committed within the Vatican City and will itself proceed against the person who committed the offence, if that person takes refuge in Italian territory. Persons accused of crimes recognized as such both in Italy and in Vatican City that are committed in Italian territory will be handed over to the Italian authorities if they take refuge in the Vatican City or in buildings that enjoy immunity under the treaty.
  
  The Vatican City has no prison system, apart from a few detention cells for pre-trial detention. People convicted of committing crimes in the Vatican serve terms in Italian prisons (Polizia Penitenziaria), with costs covered by the Vatican.