Authors: Bobbio, Matteucci, Pasquino
Summary: This 3,600-word entry first presents different definitions of the term; it then discusses the organization of, and relevant legislation concerning, the police in Italy. The entry defines the police as "a state function consisting of an institution of positive administration that carries out the restrictions imposed by law upon the liberties of individuals and groups, for the safeguard and the preservation of public order in its different manifestations," including both "people security" and "property security."
After this the different meanings the term has had in the past are summarized. In the Middle Ages the word referred to the good order of civil society. In modern times, particularly at the beginning of the 19th century, the police identified itself with the defense of society from internal dangers (actions and situations contrary to public order and public security).
The second part of the entry focuses on the organization of the police in Italy, distinguishing between the judicial police (whose functions include repressive tasks) and the administrative police (whose functions include preventive tasks). In Italy, the functions of the administrative police and the judicial police do not correspond to separate bodies of the state. The entry also discusses the level of decentralization of police organizations in Italy, and notes the 1981 law regarding the demilitarization of the Italian police. The entry closes by considering police recruitment criteria, both nationally and regionally.