Identity check on six thirteen-year-olds in via Sant'Ottavio
Date of the event:
On Monday 9 November 2026, in the early afternoon, a police patrol car stopped a group of six third-year middle school students, all thirteen years old, outside the Calvino school of the Tommaseo comprehensive institute, in via Sant'Ottavio in Turin. During the check, the officers asked them to provide their name, surname, address and citizenship. The students, who had no identity documents with them, gave their details verbally. The identity check lasted about ten minutes, after which the group was allowed to leave [1][2].
The union's complaint
The incident was made public the following day by the Cobas Scuola Torino union, which described it as discriminatory: according to the union's account, the officers lined the boys and girls up on the pavement without informing their parents, leaving the students and teachers present shaken by the incident. Cobas Scuola Torino specifically objects to the fact that minors were asked about their citizenship, and announced it would send formal requests for clarification to the relevant authorities [1].
The police's version
Turin police headquarters (Questura) responded that the check was part of the routine prevention activities carried out by patrol officers in the area around the Cavour gardens and the surrounding streets, which has repeatedly been reported for noise and disturbance of the peace. According to the Questura, the group was stopped outside the entrance of a fast-food outlet on via Sant'Ottavio that has already been the subject of numerous requests for intervention in the past, and the check ended without consequences for the students [2].
Sources
- TorinoToday — 10 November 2026
- CronacaQui Torino — 10 November 2026