Police organisation
Polizia di Stato
Italy’s civil national police force, directed by the Department of Public Security within the Ministry of the Interior — one of several national police forces, not the only one.
At a glance
- Official name
- Polizia di Stato
- Commonly rendered in English as
- State Police — a rendering in common use, not the organisation’s own name.
- System
- Italy
- Level of government
- National
- Kind of body
- National police force
- Status
- Currently operating
- Official website
- https://www.poliziadistato.it/ — confirmed against the organisation’s own pages on 13 September 2026.
- Facts last checked against sources
- 13 September 2026
What it is
The Polizia di Stato is administered by the Dipartimento della Pubblica Sicurezza, headed by a prefect holding the functions of Capo della Polizia and director-general of public security, and organised into central directorates and offices of equal rank under Law No. 121 of 1981. Article 16 of that law lists the police forces alongside the Polizia di Stato: the Arma dei Carabinieri and the Corpo della guardia di finanza. Italy therefore has several national police forces coordinated from the interior ministry rather than one.
What it covers
National. The Department of Public Security holds the technical-operational coordination of the police forces and the direction and administration of the Polizia di Stato.
Broad responsibilities
- General policing as a national civil force
- Judicial-police functions, carried out under the direction of the judicial authority
Who it answers to
Under the Dipartimento della Pubblica Sicurezza of the Ministry of the Interior, headed by the Capo della Polizia.
Elsewhere on this site
- Who polices what — how Italy is structured, against other systems
Other organisations to compare
- Arma dei Carabinieri — Italy
- Corpo della guardia di finanza — Italy
Where this connects
Institutions: National police.
Sources
Organizzazione — Polizia di Stato
Polizia di Stato (Dipartimento della Pubblica Sicurezza) · Institutional (self-description) · link verified 2026-09-13
SCOPE: the Polizia di Stato and the Department that directs it. The force’s own page, read directly. Supports that it sits under "il Dipartimento della Pubblica Sicurezza" within the Ministry of the Interior; that "Al Dipartimento della Pubblica Sicurezza è preposto un prefetto con le funzioni di Capo della Polizia - direttore generale della pubblica sicurezza"; and that the Department is organised "in Direzioni centrali e in Uffici di pari livello" under "i criteri di organizzazione e le modalità stabiliti dalla legge n. 121/81". Establishes nothing about the Carabinieri or the Guardia di Finanza.
Dipartimento della Pubblica Sicurezza (Department of Public Security)
Ministero dell'Interno (Italian Ministry of the Interior) · Government publication · link verified 2026-07-26
The Ministry of the Interior's own page on the Department of Public Security, read directly. Supports that the Department holds the "coordinamento tecnico-operativo delle Forze di polizia" (technical-operational coordination of the police forces) and "la direzione e amministrazione della Polizia di Stato" — establishing the central national coordination of Italy's several police forces from the Interior Ministry.
Law No. 121 of 1 April 1981 (new organisation of the public-security administration)
Presidenza del Consiglio dei Ministri — Ufficio Studi (official government text) · Legislation · 1981-04-01 · link verified 2026-07-26
The official government text of Law 121/1981, fetched as a PDF and text-extracted, verified verbatim in both passes. Art. 16 lists the police forces: the Polizia di Stato plus "a) l'Arma dei carabinieri, quale forza armata in servizio permanente di pubblica sicurezza; b) il Corpo della guardia di finanza", and (Art. 16(2)) the custodial and forestry corps. Art. 17 provides that judicial-police functions "sono svolte alla dipendenza e sotto la direzione dell'autorità giudiziaria" (are carried out under the dependence and direction of the judicial authority). Establishes the multiple national police forces and that criminal investigation is directed by the prosecuting magistracy.