A small team of Chinese policemen will become a familiar sight to tourists around Rome and Milan’s historic tourist attractions in a ground-breaking law enforcement partnership.
The deployment of four police officers from China is aimed at making Chinese tourists feel safer at pick pocketing hotspots such as the Colosseum in Rome and Milan’s Gothic cathedral.
Each police officer will team up with an Italian counterpart and be stationed at the tourist sites ‘to increase the sense of security of Chinese tourists,’ said Italian police chief Alessandro Pansa.
"If the experiment is successful, we will expand it to other cities in Italy," said interior minister Angelino Alfano.
The minister said a group of Italian officers would go to Beijing and Shanghai in a similar policing role.
The pilot scheme began this week and will continue until May 13, officials said.
Italy welcomes about three million Chinese visitors a year
