Senate gives final approval to local police reform: bodycams and access to databases are on the way

This is not the only connection. Operators will also be able to connect to the information systems of the Public Vehicle Register (PRA) and the Motor Vehicle Licensing Authority.

The aim is to strengthen the operational tools available to local authorities, by expanding access to information that has not previously been directly available through these channels.

The reorganisation also affects the criteria for staffing levels and recruitment procedures. Municipal regulations will set out the minimum requirements for taking part in competitive examinations and determine the overall staffing levels for each force.

The number of officers will need to be determined by taking various factors into account: the resident population, seasonal fluctuations, the size and topography of the area, and socio-economic characteristics.

However, the reform sets a clear limit. The decisions taken by local authorities must comply with the parameters laid down by the regions and, above all, with the resources and recruitment powers already available under current legislation.

There will therefore be no exceptions to the spending constraints. Local authorities wishing to increase their number of officers will have to find the necessary resources themselves. The reorganisation does not provide for any additional funding to boost staffing levels.

This is the key financial aspect of the reform. The 2021 Budget Act had established a Fund for the reform of the local police within the Ministry of the Interior, with an annual allocation of 20 million euros from 2022 onwards.

Those funds had been earmarked specifically to support the forthcoming reorganisation. However, when Parliament came to give its final approval, the fund was found to be lacking the allocation envisaged for 2026.

This is confirmed by the Chamber of Deputies’ Budget Service in the dossier on the measure. The 20 million were scrapped by Decree-Law No. 23 of 2026, the so-called ‘Security Decree’, which was approved by the government in April amid considerable controversy.

In particular, Article 6(7)(a) allocated those resources to fund other measures relating to the ‘strengthening of urban security initiatives’.

A structural measure to tackle staff shortages has been left out of the reorganisation. The Security Decree has already provided for new recruitment, but this is a limited measure, which, moreover, concerns fixed-term contracts.

And the figures show just how wide the gap is between operational needs and the human resources available. Between 2021 and 2024, the number of tasks handled by local police forces increased by 65 per cent. At the same time, the number of officers actually on duty has fallen by almost 20 per cent compared with 2009.

A gap that continues to widen: the number of operations is rising, responsibilities relating to urban security are increasing, yet the number of staff required to provide these services is falling. The reform amends the legal framework and strengthens safeguards, without providing new resources to address the gradual reduction in staffing levels.

On top of the staff shortage, there is a second problem: the ageing of officers. In regional capitals, the average age of local police staff has reached 49.1 years. However, the national figure masks very marked regional differences.

Venice is an exception, with an average age of just 38. At the other end of the scale is Palermo, where officers are on average 57 years old – the same figure recorded in Catania. The situation remains critical in numerous other cities as well. In Potenza, the average age is 55; in Cagliari, 53; in Aosta and Turin, 52. In Rome, it stands at 51. Bari, Bologna, L’Aquila and Perugia all stand at 50.