Italy's cabinet backs crack down on women pickpockets

FILE PHOTO: A general view of the upper house of parliament ahead of a confidence vote for the new government, in Rome, Italy, October 26, 2022. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane/File Photo

ROME (Reuters) - Italy's rightist government on Thursday backed a raft of measures to improve public security including potentially tougher penalties for women offenders who are pregnant or have very young children, in a move aimed at pickpockets.

The coalition League party had long called for the scrapping of a rule that prevents such women from being sent straight to jail, as part of its campaign against foreign pickpockets on public transport.