Polizia Municipale
Encyclopedia
Municipal 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...
of Italy
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...
responsible to the mayors of the various municipalities of Italy and are usually limited to performing public order duties. Traffic control is their main function in addition to enforcing regional and local laws regarding commerce, legal residence, pets and other administrative duties.
The Italian polizia municipale (PM) forces have 60,000 employees, Rome having the largest at several thousand.
PM uniforms and vehicles have many different liveries depending on regional laws and local tastes and traditions.
Some municipal police, including those of Rome, are known as the vigili urbani (urban watch), and thus derive their name from the vigiles
Vigiles
The Vigiles or more properly the Vigiles Urbani or Cohortes Vigilum were the firefighters and police of Ancient Rome.-History:...
of ancient Rome
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
. In other regions of Italy, these forces are also called polizia comunale, polizia urbana, and polizia locale.
In the autonomous province of Bolzano/Bozen
South Tyrol
South Tyrol , also known by its Italian name Alto Adige, is an autonomous province in northern Italy. It is one of the two autonomous provinces that make up the autonomous region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. The province has an area of and a total population of more than 500,000 inhabitants...
, where German is an official language, the municipal police is also called Stadtpolizei or Gemeindepolizei. Municipal police vehicles in this region have both Italian and German names on them.
In the autonomous region of Aosta Valley, where French is an official language, the municipal police is also called police municipale. Municipal police vehicles in this region have both Italian and French names on them.
Municipal police officers are still referred to as vigili (singular: vigile, meaning watchful, alert) but the official name is agente di polizia locale (APL), meaning 'local police officer'. In some regions, especially while regulating traffic, they wear white custodian helmet
Custodian helmet
Custodian helmet or centurion helmet, technically known as a 'Home Office pattern helmet', is a helmet worn by many policemen in England and Wales.-History:...
s similar to the black helmets worn by British police officers.