Italy expands controversial program to take mafia children from their families before they become criminals

Rome — Italy has not only renewed but decided to expand a controversial program to remove children from their mafia families to break the cycle of criminal behavior being passed down to new generations.

The "Free to Choose" project has been in place in the Calabria region — the base of the powerful 'Ndragheta crime syndicate — since 2012. Now, it will be extended to the Sicily and the Campania regions, respectively home to the notorious Cosa Nostra and Camorra mafias.

The aim of the program is to remove children from the mob culture they were born into and break the generational cycle of crime, giving the children a chance to live a normal life.