Italian police
Encyclopedia
Law enforcement in Italy is provided by eight separate police forces, six of which are national groups in Italy
.
During 2005 in Italy, the number of active police officers from all agencies totaled 324,339, the highest number in the European Union both overall and per capita
, twice the number of agents in the similarly sized United Kingdom
.
The Carabinieri is the common name for the Arma dei Carabinieri, a Gendarmerie
-like military corps with police duties. They also serve as the Italian military police
.
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 2004, 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, 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.
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 around 68,000 militaries among agents, NCO
s and officers
. Its agents are in service in the Europol
and the European Anti-Fraud Office. Its Latin motto since 1933 is Nec recisa recedit (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
.
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 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 has been implemented which increases police presence and deter crime. Pairs of poliziotti (policemen) or carabinieri patrol areas of major cities on foot. Its critics contend that these efforts are ineffective, as the areas with the greatest concentration of crime are being neglected.
.
Founded in 1822, the Corpo Forestale dello Stato is a civilian police force specialised on the environmental protection. A recent law reform expanded its duties to food controls.
In Italy it has the responsibility to manage the activities related to the CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species)
operate in only some of the 109 provinces of Italy. Their main duties are to enforce regional and national hunting and fishing laws but they have also expanded into wildlife management
and environmental protection. The forces' vehicles are white, with a green stripe along the side.
) whose main duty is to enforce local regulations and control traffic, but who also deal with petty crime and anti-social behaviour, especially in the largest metropolitan areas. These forces can be called Polizia Municipale, Polizia Locale, Polizia Comunale, Polizia Urbana or Vigili Urbani.
In some regions Polizia Provinciale and Polizia Municipale are grouped into the Polizia Locale name, although they keep their own internal organisation. Very little comunes can merge their local police forces in a consortium.
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 Italian Republican National Guard (Guardia Nazionale Repubblicana, or GNR) 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 Tripolitania
, Cyrenaica
, Colonia Primigenia
and Somalia between 1889 and 1942.
all Italian police forces were equipped with Italian
-made police car
s, with FIAT
and Alfa Romeo
s most common. 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 165,000-euro cars was written off in a road accident 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 has been repaired in january 2010.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
.
During 2005 in Italy, the number of active police officers from all agencies totaled 324,339, the highest number in the European Union both overall and per capita
Per capita
Per capita is a Latin prepositional phrase: per and capita . The phrase thus means "by heads" or "for each head", i.e. per individual or per person...
, twice the number of agents in the similarly sized United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
Arma dei Carabinieri
The Carabinieri is the common name for the Arma dei Carabinieri, a Gendarmerie
Gendarmerie
A gendarmerie or gendarmery is a military force charged with police duties among civilian populations. Members of such a force are typically called "gendarmes". The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary describes a gendarme as "a soldier who is employed on police duties" and a "gendarmery, -erie" as...
-like military corps with police duties. They also serve as the Italian military police
Military police
Military police are police organisations connected with, or part of, the military of a state. The word can have different meanings in different countries, and may refer to:...
.
The Carabinieri have become a separate armed force (alongside the Army
Italian Army
The Italian Army is the ground defence force of the Italian Armed Forces. It is all-volunteer force of active-duty personnel, numbering 108,355 in 2010. Its best-known combat vehicles are the Dardo infantry fighting vehicle, the Centauro tank destroyer and the Ariete tank, and among its aircraft...
, Navy
Marina Militare
The Italian Navy is the navy of the Italian Republic. It is one of the four branches of military forces of Italy; formed in 1946, from what remained of the Regia Marina . As of 2008, the Italian Navy had 35,200 active personnel with 180 commissioned ships, 19 Floating Docks, and 123 aircraft...
and Air Force
Aeronautica Militare
The Italian Air Force is the air force of the Italian Republic. It has held a prominent role in modern Italian military history...
), 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
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
, Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
and Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
.
In 2004, 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
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
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.
Guardia di Finanza
The Guardia di Finanza, (Financial Guard) is a corps of the Italian ArmyItalian Army
The Italian Army is the ground defence force of the Italian Armed Forces. It is all-volunteer force of active-duty personnel, numbering 108,355 in 2010. Its best-known combat vehicles are the Dardo infantry fighting vehicle, the Centauro tank destroyer and the Ariete tank, and among its aircraft...
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
Tax evasion
Tax evasion is the general term for efforts by individuals, corporations, trusts and other entities to evade taxes by illegal means. Tax evasion usually entails taxpayers deliberately misrepresenting or concealing the true state of their affairs to the tax authorities to reduce their tax liability,...
, financial crimes, smuggling
Smuggling
Smuggling is the clandestine transportation of goods or persons, such as out of a building, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations.There are various motivations to smuggle...
, money laundering
Money laundering
Money laundering is the process of disguising illegal sources of money so that it looks like it came from legal sources. The methods by which money may be laundered are varied and can range in sophistication. Many regulatory and governmental authorities quote estimates each year for the amount...
, international illegal drug trafficking, illegal immigration
Illegal immigration
Illegal immigration is the migration into a nation in violation of the immigration laws of that jurisdiction. Illegal immigration raises many political, economical and social issues and has become a source of major controversy in developed countries and the more successful developing countries.In...
, customs
Customs
Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting and safeguarding customs duties and for controlling the flow of goods including animals, transports, personal effects and hazardous items in and out of a country...
and borders checks, copyright violations, anti-Mafia
Mafia
The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
operations, credit card fraud
Credit card fraud
Credit card fraud is a wide-ranging term for theft and fraud committed using a credit card or any similar payment mechanism as a fraudulent source of funds in a transaction. The purpose may be to obtain goods without paying, or to obtain unauthorized funds from an account. Credit card fraud is also...
, cybercrime
CyberCrime
CyberCrime was an innovative, weekly America television program on TechTV that focused on the dangers facing computer users. Filmed in San Francisco, California, the show was hosted by Alex Wellen and Jennifer London...
, counterfeiting, terrorist financing
Terrorist Financing
Terrorist financing came into limelight after the events of terrorism on 9/11. The US passed the USA PATRIOT Act to, among other reasons, attempt thwarting the financing of terrorism and anti-money laundering making sure these were given some sort of adequate focus by US financial institutions...
, maintaining public order, and safety, political and military defense of the Italian borders.
The Guardia di Finanza
Guardia di Finanza
The Guardia di Finanza is a Italian law enforcement agency under the authority of the Minister of Economy and Finance. Like the Carabinieri, it is part of the Italian Armed Forces. The Guard is essentially responsible for dealing with financial crime and smuggling; it has also evolved into Italy's...
has around 68,000 militaries among agents, NCO
Non-commissioned officer
A non-commissioned officer , called a sub-officer in some countries, is a military officer who has not been given a commission...
s and officers
Officer (armed forces)
An officer is a member of an armed force or uniformed service who holds a position of authority. Commissioned officers derive authority directly from a sovereign power and, as such, hold a commission charging them with the duties and responsibilities of a specific office or position...
. Its agents are in service in the Europol
Europol
Europol is the European Union's criminal intelligence agency. It became fully operational on 1 July 1999....
and the European Anti-Fraud Office. Its Latin motto since 1933 is Nec recisa recedit (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
Territorial waters
Territorial waters, or a territorial sea, as defined by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, is a belt of coastal waters extending at most from the baseline of a coastal state...
.
Polizia di Stato
The Polizia di Stato (State Police) is the civil national policePolice
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
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 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 has been implemented which increases police presence and deter crime. Pairs of poliziotti (policemen) or carabinieri patrol areas of major cities on foot. Its critics contend that these efforts are ineffective, as the areas with the greatest concentration of crime are being neglected.
Polizia Penitenziaria
The Polizia Penitenziaria (Prison Guards, literally Penitentiary Police) operate the Italian prison system and handle the transportation of inmates. The training academy for the Polizia Penitenziaria is located in AversaAversa
Aversa is a town and comune in the Province of Caserta in Campania southern Italy, about 15 kilometres north of Naples. It is the centre of an agricultural district, the agro aversano, producing wine and cheese...
.
Corpo Forestale dello Stato
The Corpo Forestale dello Stato (National Forestry Department) is responsible for law enforcement in Italian national parks and forests. Their duties include enforcing poaching laws, safeguarding protected animal species and preventing forest fires.Founded in 1822, the Corpo Forestale dello Stato is a civilian police force specialised on the environmental protection. A recent law reform expanded its duties to food controls.
In Italy it has the responsibility to manage the activities related to the CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species)
Provincial Police
Polizia ProvincialePolizia Provinciale
In Italy, the polizia provinciale is a general term used to identify provincial-level police forces. Each Italian province can by statute have its own police force , but most of them have not instituted one for lack of fundings or because it is deemed "not necessary"; most of the...
operate in only some of the 109 provinces of Italy. Their main duties are to enforce regional and national hunting and fishing laws but they have also expanded into wildlife management
Wildlife management
Wildlife management attempts to balance the needs of wildlife with the needs of people using the best available science. Wildlife management can include game keeping, wildlife conservation and pest control...
and environmental protection. The forces' vehicles are white, with a green stripe along the side.
Municipal Police
In addition, each comune has its own Polizia Municipale (municipal policeMunicipal police
.Municipal police are law enforcement agencies that are under the control of local government, including the municipal government, where it is the smallest administrative subdivision. They receive pay from the city budget, and usually have fewer rights than the "state paid" police...
) whose main duty is to enforce local regulations and control traffic, but who also deal with petty crime and anti-social behaviour, especially in the largest metropolitan areas. These forces can be called Polizia Municipale, Polizia Locale, Polizia Comunale, Polizia Urbana or Vigili Urbani.
In some regions Polizia Provinciale and Polizia Municipale are grouped into the Polizia Locale name, although they keep their own internal organisation. Very little comunes can merge their local police forces in a consortium.
Historical
The OVRA, Organizzazione di Vigilanza Repressione dell'AntifascismoOVRA
The Organizzazione per la Vigilanza e la Repressione dell'Antifascismo was the secret police of the Kingdom of Italy, founded in 1927 under the regime of Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini and during the reign of King Victor Emmanuel III. The German Gestapo were the equivalent of the OVRA...
Organization for Vigilance in Repression of Anti-Fascism was a secret police organization in Italy during fascism.
The Polizia dell'Africa Italiana
Italian Africa Police
The Italian Africa Police , was the Police of "Italian Africa" from 1 June 1936 and 1 December 1941.-Characteristics:...
or PAI (Police of Italian Africa) (1936–1944).
The Italian Republican National Guard (Guardia Nazionale Repubblicana, or GNR) was a paramilitary force of the Italian Social Republic created by decree on December 8, 1943, replacing the Carabinieri and the MVSN.
Zaptié
Zaptié
Zaptié was the designation given to locally raised gendarmerie units in the Italian colonies of Tripolitania, Cyrenaica, Eritrea and Italian Somaliland between 1889 and 1942....
were locally raised gendarmerie units in the Italian colonies of Tripolitania
Tripolitania
Tripolitania or Tripolitana is a historic region and former province of Libya.Tripolitania was a separate Italian colony from 1927 to 1934...
, Cyrenaica
Cyrenaica
Cyrenaica is the eastern coastal region of Libya.Also known as Pentapolis in antiquity, it was part of the Creta et Cyrenaica province during the Roman period, later divided in Libia Pentapolis and Libia Sicca...
, Colonia Primigenia
Eritrea
Eritrea , officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa. Eritrea derives it's name from the Greek word Erethria, meaning 'red land'. The capital is Asmara. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast...
and Somalia between 1889 and 1942.
Transportation
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
-made police car
Police car
A police car is a ground vehicle used by police, to assist with their duties in patrolling and responding to incidents. Typical uses of a police car include transportation for officers to reach the scene of an incident quickly, to transport criminal suspects, or to patrol an area, while providing a...
s, with FIAT
Fiat
FIAT, an acronym for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino , is an Italian automobile manufacturer, engine manufacturer, financial, and industrial group based in Turin in the Italian region of Piedmont. Fiat was founded in 1899 by a group of investors including Giovanni Agnelli...
and Alfa Romeo
Alfa Romeo
Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. is an Italian manufacturer of cars. Founded as A.L.F.A. on June 24, 1910, in Milan, the company has been involved in car racing since 1911, and has a reputation for building expensive sports cars...
s most common. A patrol car belonging to Polizia is nicknamed Pantera (Panther
Black panther
A black panther is typically a melanistic color variant of any of several species of larger cat. Wild black panthers in Latin America are black jaguars , in Asia and Africa they are black leopards , and in North America they may be black jaguars or possibly black cougars A black panther is...
), one used by the Carabinieri is nicknamed Gazzella (Gazelle
Gazelle
A gazelle is any of many antelope species in the genus Gazella, or formerly considered to belong to it. Six species are included in two genera, Eudorcas and Nanger, which were formerly considered subgenera...
) and every unmarked car is called a Civetta (Owl
Owl
Owls are a group of birds that belong to the order Strigiformes, constituting 200 bird of prey species. Most are solitary and nocturnal, with some exceptions . Owls hunt mostly small mammals, insects, and other birds, although a few species specialize in hunting fish...
).
Every force has helicopters, trucks and campers (used as mobile offices usually in undercover missions).
In Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
, which is built across several islands linked by bridges and surrounded by water, public security and fire brigades work with boats.
In 2004, Lamborghini
Lamborghini
Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A., commonly referred to as Lamborghini , is an Italian car manufacturer. The company was founded by manufacturing magnate Ferruccio Lamborghini in 1963, with the objective of producing a refined grand touring car to compete with established offerings from marques like...
donated two Lamborghini Gallardo
Lamborghini Gallardo
The Lamborghini Gallardo is a sports car built by Lamborghini. The Gallardo is Lamborghini's most-produced model to date, with over 10,000 built in its first seven years of production...
police cars to the Polizia di Stato
Polizia di Stato
The Polizia di Stato is one of the national police forces of Italy.It is the main police force for providing police duties and it is also responsible for patrolling motorways , railways , airports , customs as well as certain waterways, and assisting the local police...
on their 152nd anniversary. On the 31st November 2009 one of these 165,000-euro cars was written off in a road accident 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 has been 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 normal civilian law enforcement vehicles have registration plates beginning with "CC" whereas vehicles for military police duties have military plates beginning with "EI".
- Guardia di FinanzaGuardia di FinanzaThe Guardia di Finanza is a Italian law enforcement agency under the authority of the Minister of Economy and Finance. Like the Carabinieri, it is part of the Italian Armed Forces. The Guard is essentially responsible for dealing with financial crime and smuggling; it has also evolved into Italy's...
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.
- Polizia di StatoPolizia di StatoThe Polizia di Stato is one of the national police forces of Italy.It is the main police force for providing police duties and it is also responsible for patrolling motorways , railways , airports , customs as well as certain waterways, and assisting the local police...
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.
- Polizia PenitenziariaPolizia PenitenziariaThe Polizia Penitenziaria is a law enforcement agency in Italy.Subordinate to the Italian Ministry of Justice, the Polizia Penitenziaria operate the Italian prison system as corrections officers. It ensures the security of Italian prisons, keeping unauthorized people out and preventing escape by...
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.
- Corpo Forestale dello StatoCorpo Forestale dello StatoThe State Forestry Corps is a national police agency in Italy.It was established on 15 October 1822 by Charles Felix of Sardinia as "Amministrazione forestale per la custodia e la vigilanza dei boschi".An agency under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry, the CFS acts...
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.
- Polizia ProvincialePolizia ProvincialeIn Italy, the polizia provinciale is a general term used to identify provincial-level police forces. Each Italian province can by statute have its own police force , but most of them have not instituted one for lack of fundings or because it is deemed "not necessary"; most of the...
vehicles are white with a green horizontal stripe along the side.
- Polizia Municipale the colours of vehicles depend on regional laws.