Law enforcement in Italy

Law enforcement in Italy is provided by multiple police forces, five of which are national, Italian agencies.

Italy divides police enforcement into Military and Civil guards, distinguishing each "corps" for duties and jurisdictions. All law enforcement officers are considered "Pubblico Ufficiale" (Public Functionary) but not all officers are "Agente di Pubblica Sicurezza" (Public Safety officer) as the latter gives the authority to arrest, investigate and patrol in the whole national territory and in all situations.

All police (except the military police, the Carabinieri) are under the Ministero dell'Interno, the highest police and public safety authority, which - through the Department of Public Safety - coordinates the enforcements. Locally, Polizia di Stato is under the Authority of the Prefetto, who collaborates with the Questore (the local chief of Polizia di Stato, with technical jurisdiction on all forces) to organise the enforcements.

Polizia Locale is under the authority of the mayor, but the officers' mandate is valid only during duty time, while Carabinieri, Polizia di Stato and Guardia di Finanza (which are public safety agents) are always "on duty", even during leave and vacations.

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. However, in this numbers are included the members of the Arma dei Carabinieri, one of the four Italian Armed Forces, that does not have the unique role of police enforcement.

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.

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Wikipedia