Law enforcement in Italy
The Italian law enforcement system is considered complex, with multiple police forces and other agencies taking part in different duties.
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 Corpo Forestale dello Stato (State Forestry Corps) formerly existed as a separate national park ranger agency,[1][3] but was merged into the Carabinieri in 2016.
[1] 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.
[2][6] The Carabinieri are also Military Police for the Italian Armed Forces, in charge of investigation or intervention inside Public Administrations and personal rights violations.
[12] The Guardia di Finanza, (Financial Guard) is a military corps under the authority of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, with a role as a police force.
[9] The Corps is in charge of financial, economic, judiciary and public safety such as 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 also maintains boats, ships and aircraft to fulfill its mission of patrolling Italy's territorial waters.
Carabinieri units have been dispatched all over the world in peacekeeping missions, including Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq.
[9] 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.
[9] Their duties included enforcing poaching laws, safeguarding protected animal species and preventing forest fires.
[17] In Italy, it had the responsibility to manage the activities related to the CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species).
[20] Interpol's National Central Bureau for Italy is part of the International Police Cooperation Service (SCIP), a branch of the Public Security Department (PSD).
Founded in 1976 as Direzione Anti Droga (Anti-Drug Directorate), it is under the authority of the Criminal police department of the Ministry of the Interior.
Their main tasks are to enforce regional and national hunting and fishing laws, but have also expanded in wildlife management and environmental protection.
[22] Some municipal police forces in Italy trace historical origins to the vigili urbani and comes stabili of ancient Rome.
[25] 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.
[28] 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.
They may be part of a private security organization, known as a Servizi di Vigilanza Privata and patrol certain areas or guard buildings.
In Venice, which is built across several islands linked by bridges and surrounded by water, public security and fire brigades work with boats.
