Law enforcement in Italy
Law enforcement in Italy is an exclusive duty of the State, which means that policing is centralized on a national level. The Italian law enforcement system is complex, with multiple police forces. According to Italian system, as "policing" we can refer to the duties of "full-powered officers" coming from the three national main forces: Polizia di Stato (State Police), Carabinieri and, even if generally active in specific fields, Guardia di Finanza (Financial Guard). While these three corps' duties spaces from investigating, preventing to arresting, other local forces carry out restricted and limited duties and will  always subjected to the main ones. The two main police forces in the country are the Carabinieri, the national gendarmerie, and the Polizia di Stato, the civil national police. The third one is the Guardia di Finanza, a militarized police force responsible for dealing with financial crime, smuggling, illegal drug trade, and others. The main forces are managed and organized on a provincial level under the authority of the Questore (the local head of police) in accord with the Prefetto, the provincial representative of the Government. Border and Maritime patrolling are undertaken by the Guardia di Finanza and Guardia Costiera  (coast guard police). The "Polizia Penitenziaria" (Prison Police) is the national prison police agency, controlling penitentiaries and taking care of in and out transfers. The Corpo Forestale dello Stato (State Forestry Corps) formerly existed as a separate national park ranger agency, but was merged into the Carabinieri in 2016. Although policing in Italy is primarily provided on a national basis, there also exists "Polizia Provinciale" (provincial police) and "Polizia Municipale" (municipal police). Overview. Law enforcement in Italy is an exclusive function of the State and is organized under the Ministry of the Interior, with provincial division and jurisdiction. The highest  office in charge of law enforcement is the ministerial office of "Dipartimento della Pubblica Sicurezza". Differently than other States, all officers from all forces are considered professionals and are selected and employed through a national ""concorso pubblico"" (roughly "open competitive exam"). This exam is valid both from "Civil attendees" or from those coming from 1-year-long or 4-year-long volunteer military training (VFP1 or VFP4). If selected, the winner of the exam will be transferred where needed, and only after some experience and solid personal reasons can be transferred in their hometown or home-province. Organisation. Law enforcement  in Italy is an exclusive function of the State and is organized under the Ministry of the Interior, with provincial division and jurisdiction. The highest office in charge of law enforcement is the ministerial office of "Dipartimento della Pubblica Sicurezza". Because Italy is not a federation, all forces are more or less equally distributed all over the country, with a precise and well structured organogram. The Ministry of the Interior is the government department with oversight of all of the national forces. On a local level, the forces are under the provincial authority of the Prefetto, in collaboration with the  Questore (the local chief of the Police), that have their offices Prefettura and Questura in every province capital. These offices are in charge of organizing public safety as well as of carrying law-required duties. This network of hierarchical autonomy efficiently enforces law and order all over the country: balancing equipment, technologies, uniforms, cars, rules and efficacy to all offices, to all cops and, in the end, to all citizens. The main police force in Italy is Polizia di Stato, or simply Polizia, which is a nationwide, full-powered agency, with different divisions for each specialized area of interest. The  Polizia's duties may vary from traffic patrol to investigation, forensic analysis, or riot control. This civilian agency is generally distributed from the medium to large cities up to the province capital, even though exceptions may exist with offices and/or stations in critical towns or in places of interest. The same duties are carried out also by Arma dei Carabinieri, commonly known as ‘’Carabinieri’’, which are also Military Police for the Italian Armed Forces. The Carabinieri is also in charge of investigation or intervention inside Public Administrations and personal right violations, but mainly because of their history as “defenders of  the Constitution" (It is not by chance that the President of Republic safety corps is a special section of Carabinieri called Corazzieri). For this last reason, Carabinieri stations are usually distributed all over the country, with a station approximately in every municipality (or at least every range of 5km), with additional stations in strategical positions along the motorways. Even though in cases of emergency, both the Polizia di Stato or the Carabinieri may be called upon or may intervene, the strong differences underline the two agencies: the Carabinieri is more an investigation/law breaking control corps, while the Polizia  also includes a number of bureaucratic duties around visas, passports, licenses, registration of tourists from hotels, and so on. Moreover in less-populated areas or areas far away from cities (at least in 3700 municipalities) usually the only policing force is the Carabinieri. Other national forces generally focus on specific and distinguished duties. For example, Guardia di Finanza is the finance and economy police (or roughly Customs, Excise and Fraud squad) and is essentially responsible for dealing with financial crime and smuggling; it has also evolved into Italy's primary agency for suppressing the illegal drug trade. It is a  military force which maintains over 600 boats and ships and more than 100 aircraft to serve in its mission of patrolling Italy's territorial waters. The "Polizia Penitenziaria" is the national prison police agency, controlling penitentiaries and taking care of in and out transfers. There is another type of police in Italy, a police that change in city to city. This police its called Polizia Locale (local police). They are similar to the main police (Polizia di Stato) but this type of police its under the city/municipality jurisdiction, with the main goal of control traffic behaviors, enforcing local laws  and regulations, or preventing dangers around the city proprieties. They can also do bureaucratic things, like release concessions regarding residency, shop’s or bar’s use of public sole and so on. In 2016, the environmental and the forestry police guard called the "Corpo Forestale dello Stato," were absorbed into the Carabinieri, reducing the number of national police forces from five to four. Powers. Italy divides law enforcement into Military and Civil forces, distinguishing each "agency" by duties and jurisdictions. All law enforcement officers are considered "Pubblici Ufficiali" ("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. Specialisation. In a different way from other countries (such as the United States), Italy does not have multiple specialized agencies for immigration, drug offenses, or patrolling, 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. Border and Maritime patrolling are undertaken by the Guardia di Finanza and Guardia Costiera (coast guard police). Officers of the Guardia Costiera, who are members of the Italian Navy, do not have the same range of powers as the Polizia, Carabinieri or Guardia di Finanza, and they should be considered as a "specialty" of the Navy more than "police officers" (they do are Pubblici Ufficiali, but are not Agenti di Pubblica Sicurezza) . Nevertheless, they are in charge of policing and patrolling seaside regulations and laws, both beachside and on water. Local Level . "(See below)" On a town level the head of Public Safety is the Mayor. Each town or city has its own police department ("Polizia Locale" or "Polizia Municipale"), but they have limited jurisdiction and duties. Municipal officers work on minor crimes on a local basis, from traffic offenses to small-time drug dealing and illegal camping. Local officers can check driving licenses, enforce municipal laws and ordinances and carry out investigations for robberies and minor offenses, but they cannot form a "riot squad" or interfere with homicide or general investigations by the Polizia di Stato 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. Numbers. 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. 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, one tasked with ensuring proper standards are being met within the food and drink production, Carabinieri per la tutela della salute, another tasked with the protection of Art and Cultural Patrimony Carabinieri per la tutela del Patrimonio culturale. Special forces. Until 2015 - right during European attacks by Islamic Terrorists - terrorism alarm was very  non-existent, so the main policing special forces were few highly specialised Helicopter-supported squads (élite squads or some kind of SWAT) in Rome and Milan. N.O.C.S for Polizia di Stato, G.I.S. for Carabinieri and A.T.P.I for Guardia di Finanza. But with the increase of potential threats the anti-terrorism first response was updated. Each Province or important city was provided with a medium specialised squad of Carabinieri and one of Polizia to intervene in the shortest time. If necessary they take time waiting for the Élite Squads. They are trained to first respond the medium and medium-high treats , including terrorism, armed bank assaults etc. These squads are called A.P.I. and for Carabinieri, and U.O.P.I. for Polizia. Moreover, Carabinieri has few specialised squads to fight the kidnapping, mafia and drug traffic. This squads are called “Cacciatori” (Hunters) and are present in Sicily, Sardinia, Calabria and Apulia. Structure. National police forces. 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 are somewhat military, its personnel is composed of civilians. Its headquarters are in Rome, and there are Regional and Provincial divisions throughout the Italian territory. Interpol summarizes the primary focus of the Polizia di Stato (Ministry of Interior): "Its responsibilities include investigative and law enforcement duties, and the security of motorway, railway, and waterway networks". Europol (the EU's law enforcement agency), provides this summary of the force's responsibilities: "protecting the state, safeguarding the rights and freedoms of citizens, supervising the maintenance of public  order, maintaining public safety, providing assistance to public entities and private in the event of accidents and disasters as well as the peaceful resolution of disputes between private individuals. It also deals with the training and education, at its facilities, of members of other police bodies... specialty departments include the Traffic, Railway, Communications Police, the Mobile Departments and the Scientific Police. A program "Polizia di Quartiere" ("Neighborhood Police") has been implemented which increases police presence and deters crime. Pairs of "poliziotti" (policemen) or "carabinieri" patrol areas of major cities on foot or by bike. Guardia di Finanza. The "Guardia di  Finanza", () is a military corps under the authority of the Minister of Economy and Finance, with a role as a 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. Interpol summarizes the primary focus Guardia di Finanza (Ministry of Economy and Finance) as "a force with military status and nationwide remit for financial  crime investigations; Its responsibilities include investigative and law enforcement duties, and the security of motorway, railway, and waterway networks". Europol (the EU's law enforcement agency), provides this summary: "organized according to a military structure ... the tasks of the Guardia di Finanza consist of the prevention, search and denunciation of evasions and financial violations, in the supervision of the observance of the provisions of political and economic interest and in the surveillance at sea for financial police purposes. ... it also contributes to the maintenance of order and public security, to military defense along national borders for the illegal drug trade  . 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, Eurojust and the European Anti-Fraud Office. Its Latin motto since 1933 is "Nec recisa recedit" (). The "Guardia di Finanza" also maintains boats, ships and 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. 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. Interpol summarizes this force (part of the Ministry of Defence), with military status, as having "nationwide remit for crime investigations. It also serves as the military police for the Italian armed forces and can be called upon for national defence action." According to Europol (the EU's law enforcement agency), the Carabinieri Corps' military duties include "contributing to national defense, participating in military operations in Italy and abroad, executing military police functions and ensuring the security of Italian diplomatic and consular representations". As a national police force, it  carries out public order and security policing, as well as investigative activities on its own initiative or at the request of the judicial authorities. 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" of the Multinational Specialized Unit 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, 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. According to Europol, this force has "4,672 stations and lieutenancies". Polizia Penitenziaria. The "Polizia Penitenziaria" (Prison Guards, literally  Penitentiary Police, also translated as "Prison Police Corps") operates the Italian prison system and handles 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 major events. According to Interpol, this force (part of the Ministry of Justice) has a "nationwide remit for prison security, inmate safety and transportation". Europol (the EU's law enforcement agency), provides more specifics as to the corps' responsibilities: to "ensure order and  security inside and outside the buildings, preventing unauthorized entry or exit. In addition, they manage to organize and educate for inmates, and provide transport, escort and guard services for prisoners. The Corps has its own marine service and dog and horse units. Finally, the Penitentiary Police can be deployed to carry out public order and security functions, including public rescue, in cases where they are required to help provide specific civil protection". Corpo Forestale dello Stato (dissolved). 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 specialized on the environmental protection. A recent law reform expanded its duties to food controls. 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. 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 Directorate) is a joint organization of "Polizia di Stato", "Carabinieri", "Polizia Penitenziaria" and "Guardia di Finanza" for the fight against organized crime. Founded in 1991, under the authority of the Minister of Interior as the "Direzione Nazionale Antimafia" (National Anti-Mafia Directorate). 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. Interpol's National Central Bureau for Italy  is part of the International Police Cooperation Service (SCIP), a branch of the Public Security Department (PSD). "SCIP is a multi-agency DPS unit: the Polizia di Stato, Carabinieri and Guardia di Finanza head it, on a rotation basis. Officers representing all police forces staff it", the agency states. 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. Local police forces. Local communities in Italy also have responsibility for local police issues. They generally fall into either: Provincial Police. The "Polizia Provinciale" (Provincial Police) is local police only used in some of the 109 Provinces of Italy. Their main tasks are to enforce regional and national hunting and fishing laws, but have also expanded in wildlife management and environmental protection. As well as providing a traffic police service and participation in the security services arranged by the authorities. Municipal and Local Police. In addition, each comune has its own "Polizia Municipale" (Municipal Police ) whose main duty is traffic control and responsibilities relating to licenses and urban regulations. The municipal police also serve as auxiliaries to security police forces and have responsibilities for local crime prevention and community policing. The competence (jurisdiction) of municipal police are limited to their specific municipality. Some municipal police forces in Italy trace historical origins to the "vigili urbani" and "comes stabili" of ancient Rome. Urban policing emerged in the 13th to 14th centuries in the Italian comunes (such as Bologna); although police forces have been assumed to be a modern innovation, these medieval forces had some similarities to  modern police forces. Today, Italian municipal forces go by various names, such as "polizia comunale" (comune police), "polizia urbana" (urban police), and "polizia locale" (local police). Animal Protection. In some areas, there is an animal protection force, or "Guardie Zoofile", that rescue animals in distress and protect animals and wildlife. Agents (as local police officials are generally known in Italy) are volunteer private citizens, who have received some training and have limited powers, with regards to the safety of animals. The law (number 189) of 20 July 2004, (relating to the acts of animal abuse), assigns the functions and qualifications  of the judicial police to the guards of the protectionist and zoophile associations. This means that they can (and must) continue to take care of the protection of all animals and the protection of livestock - in their capacity as zoophile guards and therefore as public officials of the administrative and judicial police. The guards (recognized by decree issued by the Prefecture) do not have jurisdiction in hunting matters. Agents will check that people are in compliance with all animal-related municipal, regional and national directives and laws and may report them to the Carabinieri, Polizia di Stato, Polizia Locale or  Forestry Carabinieri as appropriate. Some agents have been injured in the line of duty, such as one volunteer who was bit by a dangerous dog, who had been set loose by the owner. In this case, volunteers are public officials in exercising their role as zoophile guards and are protected as such. Uniforms and Equipment. The Agents generally wear green uniforms, although different to the Guardia di Finanza and Polizia Locale. As with different local police forces in Italy, they may wear various combinations of: Historical. The "Organizzazione di Vigilanza Repressione dell'Antifascismo" (or "OVRA") (English: Organization for Vigilance in Repression  of Anti-Fascism) was a secret police organization in Italy during fascism. The "Polizia dell'Africa Italiana" or "PAI" (Police of Italian Africa) (1936–1944). The "Guardia Nazionale Repubblicana" or "GNR" (National Republic Guard) was a paramilitary force of the Italian Social Republic created by decree on December 8, 1943, replacing the "Carabinieri" and the "MVSN". "Zaptié" were locally raised gendarmerie units in the Italian colonies of Italian Tripolitania, Italian Cyrenaica, Italian Eritrea and Italian Somaliland between 1889 and 1942. Zaptié were used during the period of Trust Territory of Somaliland from 1950 to 1960. Members were sent to Italy to train  and after 1960 the merged into the Somali Police Force. Private Security. As with most of Western Europe, private security organisations play a part in security of money, valuables, property and people. In Italy, a guard, or security officer, is known as a "Guardia di Sicurezza". They maybe part of a private security organisation, known as a "Servizi di Vigilanza Privata" and patrol certain areas or guard buildings. Services include: There are certain requirements, similar to police, in order for citizens to become security agents. They must: Uniforms and Equipment. Some guards are armed (generally with pistols), similar to police , but some are not. These are generally semi-automatic pistols, or revolvers. The licence to carry this must be obtained from the Prefecture by the private security organisation, or the hiring organisation. This is subject to weapon-handling competency checks and health checks. Uniforms vary greatly from company to company and are often similar, but distinct, to the state and local police forces. Often marked vehicles are used for security work. Transportation. all Italian police forces were equipped with Italian-made police cars, with Alfa Romeos most common. A patrol car belonging to "Polizia" is nicknamed "Pantera" (Panther), one used  by the "Carabinieri" is nicknamed "Gazzella" (Gazelle). 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.