Law enforcement in Italy

Law enforcement in Italy is provided by multiple police forces, five of which are national agencies with full powers. Other local forces provide special restricted duties or support duties.

Carabinieri.

Overview

Law enforcement in Italy is an exclusive function of the State. While organisations and companies may have “security guards” (called “Guardie Giurate”), investigation and police duties are carried out by national law enforcement bodies. In a general overview, the most common definition and idea of "police" can be applied only to two forces, Polizia di Stato and Carabinieri. Both of them have full powers of investigation, public safety duties, road patrols and more. Nevertheless, other forces exist, focusing on specific and distinguished duties (for example there is a finance and economy police, called the "Guardia di Finanza" [roughly, Customs, Excise and Fraud Squad - see below], a prison guard agency, called the "Polizia Penitenziaria" and, up to 2016, when it was absorbed into the Carabinieri, the environment and the forestry police guard, called the "Guardia Forestale").

Italy divides law enforcement into Military and Civil forces, distinguishing each "agency" by duties and jurisdictions. All law enforcement officers are considered "Pubblici Ufficiale" [Public Functionaries] and but not all officers belonging to police forces are "Agenti di Pubblica Sicurezza" [Public Safety officers] as the latter gives the authority to arrest, investigate and patrol in the whole national territory and in all situations.

In a different way from other countries (such as the United States), Italy does not have multiple specialised agencies for immigration, drug offences, patrolling etc, but each “area” is investigated by a dedicated section of each national agency. For example, the Polizia Stradale [highway patrol] is a role within the Polizia, with focus on patrolling the roads and various crimes committed on national and local roads. Therefore, crimes covering multiple "areas" do not need to be covered by multiple agencies.

The Ministero dell'Interno Ministry of the Interior is the government department with oversight of all of the national forces. On a local level, the Polizia is under the authority of the Prefetto, in collaboration with the Questore (the local chief of the Polizia).

Border and Maritime patrolling is undertaken by the Guardia Costiera [Coast Guard]. Officers, who are members of the Italian Navy, do not have the same range of powers as the Polizia or the Carabinieri.

Municipal officers work on minor crimes on a local basis, from traffic offences to small-time drug dealing and illegal camping. Each town or city has its own police department but they have limited jurisdiction and duties. Local officers can check driving licences, enforce municipal laws and ordinances and carry out investigations for robbeies and minor offences, but they cannot form a "riot squad" or interfere with homicide or general investigations by the Police or Carabinieri.

Each Polizia Locale is under the authority of the respective local mayor, but the officers' mandate is valid only during their working hours and within the area their force covers, whereas Carabinieri, Polizia di Stato and Guardia di Finanza are always formally "on duty", wherever they are and regardless of whether they are at work.

In 2005, the total number of active police officers in all of the agencies was 324,339 in Italy, the highest number in the European Union both overall and per capita, twice the number of agents in the similarly sized United Kingdom.^[1] However, this number includes every officer of the Arma dei Carabinieri, one of the four arms of the Italian Armed Forces, which includes roles which in other countries would not necessarily be considered to be police officers. For example, it has a department akin to workplace inspectors, Carabinieri della tutela del lavoro, and one tasked with ensuring proper standards are being met within food and drink production, Carabinieri per la tutela della salute.

Structure

National police forces

Polizia di Stato

Main article: Polizia di Stato

The Polizia di Stato (State Police) is the civil national police of Italy. Along with patrolling, investigative and law enforcement duties, it patrols the Autostrada (Italy's Express Highway network), and oversees the security of railways, bridges and waterways.

It is a civilian police force, while the Carabinieri and the Guardia di Finanza are military. While its internal organization and mindset is somewhat military, its personnel is composed of civilians. Its headquarters are in Rome, and there are Regional and Provincial divisions throughout Italian territory.

A program Polizia di Quartiere (Quarter Police) has been implemented which increases police presence and deters crime. Pairs of poliziotti (policemen) or carabinieri patrol areas of major cities on foot.

Guardia di Finanza

Main article: Guardia di Finanza

The Guardia di Finanza, (English: Financial Guard) is a military corps under the authority of the Minister of Economy and Finance, with a role as police force.

The Corps is in charge of financial, economic, judiciary and public safety: tax evasion, financial crimes, smuggling, money laundering, international illegal drug trafficking, illegal immigration, customs and borders checks, copyright violations, anti-Mafia operations, credit card fraud, cybercrime, counterfeiting, terrorist financing, maintaining public order, and safety, political and military defense of the Italian borders.

The Guardia di Finanza has a strength of around 68,000 soldiers working as agents, NCOs and officers. Its militaries are in service in the Europol and the European Anti-Fraud Office. Its Latin motto since 1933 is Nec recisa recedit (English: Not Even Broken Retreats). The Guardia di Finanza also maintains over 600 boats and ships and more than 100 aircraft to fulfill its mission of patrolling Italy's territorial waters.

During demonstrations and very big events, the Guardia di Finanza is often called on duty as riot police.

Arma dei Carabinieri

Main article: Arma dei Carabinieri

Carabinieri in Piazza San Marco, Venice, 1924.

The Carabinieri is the common name for the Arma dei Carabinieri, a Gendarmerie-like military corps with police duties. They also serve as the military police for the Italian armed forces.

The Carabinieri have become a separate armed force (alongside the Army, Navy and Air Force), thus ending their long-standing tradition as the First Corps (Arma) of the Italian Army (Esercito). They are referred to as the Arma or La Benemerita (The Meritorious Corps).

Carabinieri units have been dispatched all over the world in peacekeeping missions, including Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq.

In November 2003, twelve Carabinieri were killed in a suicide bomb attack on their base in Nasiriyah, in southern Iraq. This was Italy's largest military loss in a single action since World War II.

Until 2001,^[2] only men were allowed to become part of the Arma (or any military force, for that matter), but military reforms allow women to serve in the Italian military, including Carabinieri.

Having both military police duties and civil police duties, the Arma is usually called on duty as riot police during big events and demonstrations.

Polizia Penitenziaria

Main article: Polizia Penitenziaria

The Polizia Penitenziaria (Prison Guards, literally Penitentiary Police) operate the Italian prison system and handle the transportation of inmates. The training academies for the Polizia Penitenziaria are located in Aversa, Monastir, Cairo Montenotte, Castiglione delle Stiviere, Parma, Portici, Rome, San Pietro Clarenza, Verbania and Sulmona.

Its agents are sometimes called to help the other police forces during big events.

Corpo Forestale dello Stato

Main article: Corpo Forestale dello Stato

The Corpo Forestale dello Stato (National Forestry Department, now dissolved) was responsible for law enforcement in Italian national parks and forests. Their duties included enforcing poaching laws, safeguarding protected animal species and preventing forest fires. Founded in 1822, the Corpo Forestale dello Stato was a civilian police force specialised on the environmental protection. A recent law reform expanded its duties to food controls.^[3] In Italy it had the responsibility to manage the activities related to the CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species). The Autonomous Region of Sardinia has its own corp of forestry police.^[4]

Corpo Forestale dello Stato was dissolved on December 31, 2016 and all personnel become militarized and absorbed into the Carabinieri's Comando unità per la tutela forestale, ambientale e agroalimentare.

Interforces

The Direzione Investigativa Antimafia (or DIA) (Anti-Mafia Investigation Department) is a joint organization of Polizia di Stato, Carabinieri, Corpo Forestale dello Stato and Guardia di Finanza for the fight against organized crime. Founded in 1991, under the authority of the Minister of Interior e the coordination of the Direzione Nazionale Antimafia (National Anti-Mafia Directorat). Its operations include preemptive investigations, judicial investigations, and international relations, and it investigates characteristics, objectives, and methods of the Mafia as well as their domestic and international contacts. The DIA was to prevent mafiosi from infiltrating the government.^[5]

The Direzione Centrale per i Servizi Antidroga (Central Directorate for Anti-Drug Services) is a joint organization of Polizia di Stato, Carabinieri and Guardia di Finanza for the fight against drug trafficking. Founded in 1976 as Direzione Anti Droga (Anti-Drug Directorate), is under the authority of the Criminal police department of the Minister of Interior.

Transportation

a Lamborghini Gallardo of the Polizia di Stato, used for emergency intervention and transport of organs, parked in Piazza dell'Unità d'Italia in Trieste

State Police Fiat Grande Punto

an Alfa Romeo 159 parked at the seafront in Bari

Until recently, all Italian police forces were equipped with Italian-made police cars, with FIAT and Alfa Romeos most common. The most famous of them, the Alfa Romeo Giulia, gave the nicknames of the cars still commonly used today. A patrol car belonging to Polizia is nicknamed Pantera (Panther), one used by the Carabinieri is nicknamed Gazzella (Gazelle) and every unmarked car is called a Civetta (Owl).

Every force has helicopters, trucks and campers (used as mobile offices, usually in undercover missions). In Venice, which is built across several islands linked by bridges and surrounded by water, public security and fire brigades work with boats.

In 2004, Lamborghini donated two Lamborghini Gallardo police cars to the Polizia di Stato on their 152nd anniversary. On the 31st November 2009 one of these supercars was badly damaged in a collision near the northern Italian town of Cremona where it was on display at a student jobs fair. The car apparently swerved to avoid another vehicle crossing its path and collided with two stationary vehicles; it was repaired in January 2010.

• Arma dei Carabinieri patrol vehicles are very dark blue with a red stripe along the side. Most if not all have white roofs. Their telephone number is also featured - "112" (whilst that of the Polizia di Stato is "113"). Their vehicles have registration plates beginning with "CC".^[6] Precedently, Carabinieri cars was dark green: the last green (and the first black) Carabinieri car was the Alfa Romeo Giulia.
• Guardia di Finanza vehicles are dove grey or dark blue with a thin gold stripe along each side and the words Guardia di Finanza in gold underneath. The vehicle plates begin with the letters “GdiF” in red.^[7]
• Polizia di Stato vehicles are light blue with a white stripe along the side and the word POLIZIA in large letters underneath. The license plates start with the word Polizia in red usually followed by a letter and four numbers.^[8] Like the Carabinieri veichles, the cars was precedently green, but before the green colour, the cars was red.
• Polizia Penitenziaria vehicles are dark blue with a light blue stripe along the side and Polizia Penitenziaria in white letters under the stripe. License plates have the entire name POLIZIA PENITENZIARIA on them, followed by three numbers and two letters.^[9]
• Corpo Forestale dello Stato vehicles are green with a white stripe and the words CORPO FORESTALE DELLO STATO in white along the side. The vehicle plates begin with the letters “CFS” in red.^[10] From January 2017 all vehicles has been trasnferred under the Carabinieri's Comando unità per la tutela forestale, ambientale e agroalimentare. The words "CORPO FORESTALE DELLO STATO" has been replaced with "CARABINIERI", but they still remain green with a white stripe.
• Polizia Provinciale vehicles are white with a green horizontal stripe along the side.
• Polizia Municipale the colours of vehicles depend on regional laws. Usually the cars are white with blue, green or red stripes and the words "Polizia Municipale" or "Polizia Locale" along the side, in some regions car color can be black or dark grey. License plates have the entire name POLIZIA LOCALE on them and the letter "Y" followed by another letter, three numbers and two letters.

See also

• Crime in Italy

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Italian Police.

• (in Italian) Polizia di Stato (official website) (English; Francais; Espanol; Deutsch)