The Polizia Stradale is the national

highway patrol A highway patrol, or state patrol is either a police unit created primarily for the purpose of overseeing and enforcing traffic safety compliance on roads and highways, or a detail within an existing local or regional police agency that is prima ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

and is a sub-directorate of the

Italian State Police The ''Polizia di Stato'' ( State Police or P.S.) is one of the national police forces of Italy. Alongside the Carabinieri, it is the main police force for providing police duties, primarily to cities and large towns, and with its child agencie ...

. The ''Polizia Stradale'' patrols the 7,000 kilometers of motorways (''

autostrada The Autostrade (; singular ) are roads forming the Italian national system of motorways. The total length of the system is about . In North and Central Italy, the Autostrade mainly consists of tollways managed by Autostrade per l'Italia, a ho ...

'') in Italy and the main highways and arterial roads outside towns. Missions include the prevention and detection of driving offences, traffic accident reporting, planning and carrying out services to regulate traffic, providing escorts for road safety, protecting and controlling the road network, rescue operations and cooperation in the collection of traffic flow data. Between the several activities it carries out also services of supply and regulation of the traffic. Under the profile of the communication verification the news on the practicability that then comes diffuse from the ''Center coordination information on street emergency'' (Centro Addestramento Polizia di Stato) (C.C.I.S.S.). It also promotes the initiatives and campaigns of sensibilities of the citizens, in particular young people, on street emergencies.

History

During the reconstruction after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

the number of automobiles on the roads began to increase. In order to respond to the increasing requirements of this traffic, highway patrol sections were formed at 72 police headquarters with the employment of 2600 men and numerous motorcycles of various origins, mostly military surplus, in the first months of 1946. The PS was established by a decree issued 26 November 1947 signed by the former Temporary Head of the State,

Enrico de Nicola Enrico De Nicola, (; 9 November 1877 – 1 October 1959) was an Italian jurist, journalist, politician, and provisional head of state of 1946 Italian constitutional referendum, republican Italy from 1946 to 1948. Afterwards, he became the firs ...

. He established the tasks of the service and its organization, attributing some the management not to the Ministry of the Public Works but to the Interior. Subsequently the ''Polizia Stradale'' was organized into departments with regional responsibility and sections with local competence with subordinate sub-sections and detachments. The necessity of centralized control has increased with the passing of the years. http://quanteruote.libero.it/media/blogs/qr/renaultlagunapolizia.JPG

Organization

The PS is managed by the Central Directorate for Police, Railway, and Communications and the Special Police Departments of State Police, a part of Department of Public Security at the

Ministry of Interior An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

. The Traffic Police is divided into: * Compartments: in all the regional capitals except for: **

Aosta Aosta (, , ; french: Aoste , formerly ; frp, Aoûta , ''Veulla'' or ''Ouhta'' ; lat, Augusta Praetoria Salassorum; wae, Augschtal; pms, Osta) is the principal city of Aosta Valley, a bilingual region in the Italian Alps, north-northwest of ...

, which is part of the compartment

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

, while

Molise Molise (, , ; nap, label=Neapolitan language, Neapolitan, Mulise) is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy. Until 1963, it formed part of the region of Abruzzi e Molise, alongside the region of Abruzzo. The split, which did not become effe ...

refers to the compartment

Campania Campania (, also , , , ) is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islands and the i ...

. ** In

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

were established in eastern Sicily compartments

Catania Catania (, , Sicilian and ) is the second largest municipality in Sicily, after Palermo. Despite its reputation as the second city of the island, Catania is the largest Sicilian conurbation, among the largest in Italy, as evidenced also by ...

and western Sicily to

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...

. ** The compartment

Veneto Veneto (, ; vec, Vèneto ) or Venetia is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about five million, ranking fourth in Italy. The region's capital is Venice while the biggest city is Verona. Veneto was part of the Roman Empire unt ...

for geographical reasons is based in

Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

. * Sections: in all provincial capitals. * Detachments: 187 in all, are located near major towns. * Highway Operating Centers (COA ): 14 in all activities and coordination of patrols ensure that the

motorways A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms i ...

. * Sections: 81 in all, built in agreement with the company or highways with the ''Azienda Nazionale Autonoma delle Strade'' (

ANAS ''Anas'' is a genus of dabbling ducks. It includes the pintails, most teals, and the mallard and its close relatives. It formerly included additional species but following the publication of a molecular phylogenetic study in 2009 the genus wa ...

). * 12,000 persons

Equipment

Alfa Romeo 159 - Polizia di Stato (5892097181)

The PS uses high powered cars and motorcycles with some vans, ambulances and other specialised vehicles as needed.

Cars

BMW 3 Series (E90) The fifth generation of the BMW 3 Series range of compact executive cars is designated under the model codes E90 (saloon), E91 (estate, marketed as 'Touring'), E92 (coupé) and E93 (convertible). The model was introduced in December 2004, and pr ...

Volkswagen Passat The Volkswagen Passat is a series of D-segment, large family cars manufactured and marketed by the Germany, German automobile manufacturer Volkswagen since 1973, and now in its eighth generation. It has been marketed variously as the Dasher, Sa ...

Alfa Romeo 159 The Alfa Romeo 159 (Type 939) is a compact executive car manufactured and marketed by Alfa Romeo between 2004 and 2011. Introduced at the 2005 Geneva Motor Show, as a replacement for the 156, the 159 used the GM/Fiat Premium platform, sha ...

* Alfa Romeo Giulia Veloce *

Alfa Romeo Giulietta Alfa Romeo Giulietta is the name of three different automobiles made by Italian car manufacturer Alfa Romeo: * The first Giulietta (Type 750 and 101) was a rear-wheel drive car made from 1954 to 1965, in 4-door saloon/sedan, coupé, spider and e ...

Audi A4 The Audi A4 is a line of compact executive cars produced since 1994 by the German car manufacturer Audi, a subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group. The A4 has been built in five generations and is based on the Volkswagen Group B platform. The first ...

* BMW 330 Touring *

Jeep Renegade The Jeep Renegade is a subcompact crossover SUV produced by Stellantis under their Jeep marque. It was first shown to the public in March 2014 at the Geneva Motor Show#2014, Geneva Motor Show and production started in late August of that year. , ...

Volvo V50 The Volvo V50 is the station wagon version of the Volvo S40 small family car first unveiled at the 2003 Bologna Motor Show, both assembled at Ghent, Belgium. Sharing the Ford C1 platform with the European Ford Focus and the Mazda 3, the V50 ...

Subaru Legacy The is a mid-size car built by Japanese automobile manufacturer Subaru since 1989. The maker's flagship car, it is unique in its class for offering all-wheel drive as a standard feature, and Subaru's traditional boxer engine. The Legacy was sold ...

and

Impreza The is a compact car that has been manufactured by the Japanese automaker Subaru since 1992. It was introduced as a replacement for the Subaru Leone, Leone, with the predecessor's Subaru EA engine, EA series engines replaced by the new Subaru EJ ...

* Renault Laguna Grandtour *

Renault Laguna The Renault Laguna is a large family car that was manufactured and marketed by Renault for 21 years in three body styles: hatchback, coupé, and estate. The first generation Laguna was launched in 1994, the second generation was introduced in 200 ...

Lamborghini Gallardo The Lamborghini Gallardo (; ) is a sports car built by the Italian automotive manufacturer Lamborghini from 2003 to 2013. It is Lamborghini's second car released under parent company Audi, and best-selling model with 14,022 built throughout its ...

and Lamborghini LP560-4 ( both out of service ) *

Lamborghini Huracán The Lamborghini Huracán (Spanish for "hurricane"; ) is a sports car manufactured by Italian automotive manufacturer Lamborghini replacing the previous V10 offering, the Gallardo. The Huracán was revealed online in December 2013, making its w ...

SEAT Alhambra The SEAT Alhambra is a seven-seater minivan that was built from 1996 to 2020. It was manufactured under the SEAT brand from June 1996 onwards at the Volkswagen Group's AutoEuropa plant in Palmela, Portugal. It shares the same platform with the Vo ...

Motorcycles

Aprilia Aprilia is an Italian motorcycle manufacturer founded immediately after World War II in Noale, Italy, by Alberto Beggio. The company started as a manufacturer of bicycles and moved on to manufacture scooters and small-capacity motorcycles. ...

Nuovo Pegaso * BMW RT 850 *

Moto Guzzi Moto Guzzi is an Italian motorcycle manufacturer and the oldest European manufacturer in continuous motorcycle production. Established in 1921 in Mandello del Lario, Italy, the company is noted for its historic role in Italy's motorcycling ma ...

Falcone

Others

Fiat Ducato The Fiat Ducato is a light commercial vehicle jointly developed by FCA Italy and PSA Group (currently Stellantis), and mainly manufactured by Sevel, a joint venture between the two companies since 1981. It has also been sold as the Citroën C25, ...

Sidearm

Beretta 92 The Beretta 92 (also Beretta 96 and Beretta 98) is a series of semi-automatic pistols designed and manufactured by Beretta of Italy. The Beretta 92 was designed in 1975, and production began in 1976. Many variants in several different calibers co ...

- 9mm (seen in officers holsters)

References

External links

Polizia Stradale Official site

Official website

{{Law enforcement in Italy Polizia di Stato Road transport in Italy