Speaking Italian
How to report a theft to the police, in Italian
If you are in the chair right now
Mi hanno rubato la borsa. Vorrei fare una denuncia.
My bag has been stolen. I'd like to file a report.
If that gets brushed off
Un'ora fa, in metropolitana. Dentro c'erano il telefono, il portafoglio e le chiavi.
An hour ago, on the metro. My phone, wallet and keys were inside.
«Mi hanno rubato» — an anonymous they did it — is how Italian reports a theft; no passive needed. Fare una denuncia is the everyday phrase and sporgere denuncia the formal one; either way, the stamped copy is what your insurer wants.
Nobody plans for this, and Italy adds a question no phrasebook answers: two different uniforms take theft reports, and you are standing in the street wondering which one you need. The answer is either — and the sentence is the same at both counters.
If you need more than one line
neutral
Mi hanno rubato il portafoglio.
My wallet has been stolen. Swap in: il telefono, lo zaino, il passaporto.
neutral
Vorrei sporgere denuncia.
I'd like to file a report. Sporgere is the verb printed on the form; fare works everywhere in speech.
neutral
È successo stamattina, vicino alla stazione.
It happened this morning, near the station.
firmest
Mi serve una copia per l'assicurazione.
I need a copy for the insurance. The reason you came, and worth saying out loud.
Two things worth knowing
This is the one conversation you will have while too rattled to build a sentence.
The anonymous «loro» does the accusing
Italian pins a theft on an unnamed they: «mi hanno rubato la borsa» — they stole my bag, whoever they were. No passive, no suspect, and the mi up front marks you as the one it happened to. It is the natural spoken shape, and it arrives with the same grammar in every robbery story you will ever hear told at an Italian dinner table.
Polizia or carabinieri — both counters work
Italy runs two national forces side by side, and for a stolen bag it genuinely does not matter which you walk into: both take denunce, both stamp the copy the insurance company wants. Tourists usually end up at the carabinieri because their stations are everywhere. The phrase, the form and the copy are the same — pick the nearer door.
What Luca actually said
What you have to get done
- Say what was taken and from where
- Explain what the bag looked like and what was inside it
- Talk about when things happened
Luca
Take all the time you need, tell me what happened.
You
All right, I'll try to reconstruct it calmly: my bag was stolen right outside the police station.
Luca
I see, thank you for telling me: let's start with the description of the bag.
You
Of course: it was a black leather shoulder bag, fairly roomy, with a silver buckle; inside were my wallet, keys, phone and some documents.
Luca
Thank you, that description is very clear; now let's calmly reconstruct when you last had it.
You
Of course. I had it until a few minutes before the theft: I remember resting it beside me while I waited outside, but when I stood up it was gone.
Luca
Thank you, I've noted everything; now we can register the report, and I hope your belongings are found soon.
The whole conversation, unedited
A real run in the app, nothing scripted on the officer's side. The transcript above is taken from this recording, and the objectives tick off on screen as they are met.
Turn sound on to hear it.
Now say it yourself
Reading that is not the same as producing it with someone waiting, which is the entire difficulty. You can have this exact conversation in the app: Luca is a third of the way through, and you have three things to get done.
It is free, it takes about a minute to start, and the first attempt is allowed to be terrible.
Practise this conversation
