Pickpockets...
According to my Italian colleagues today, pickpockets are a general issue in the touristy areas, just as they are in London and Paris. (If you are a Londoner, you are less likely to be a victim than if you are a tourist in London. According to a Paris newspaper I read recently, the main London trick with tourists is to take things from backpacks while they are still on the tourists' backs.) Drive-by shoulder-handbag snatching from scooters still has a certain reputation in Rome. During my one trip to Rome, I was walking with an Italian colleague (speaking English) when three Eastern-European teenage girls came up begging. While we were brushing them off, one reached inside my colleague's jacket. However, as he said, you have to get up very early in the morning to pull that one on an Italian.
Other than the pickpocket and purse-snatching issues, Rome is said to be one of the safest cities in Europe. It is safe to walk in most areas downtown at any time of the night. I would not hesitate to take my cameras there. I suppose I would remember to check their insurance...
Momo