Anti-terrorism, drug-trafficking, corruption. These are just a few of the reasons given for the increasing use of line tapping by the authorities in Rome. Echoing a nationwide change, listening in on phone calls in the Lazio region cost over 10.4 million in 2003, with the second half of the year

exceeding the first by over 100 per cent highlighting the upward trend. The figures for Italy as a whole exceed 200 million annually. Increasingly the Italian police and security services are resorting to line-tapping given the reluctance of many potential witnesses to give evidence in court, particularly cases of organised crime or terrorism. Every day 200 numbers are added to the several thousand already under the all-hearing ear of the state.