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One of the Lamborghini Gallardo of the Polizia Stradale

Police trucks in Venice Railway Station

The Polizia di Stato (State Police) is one of the national police forces of Italy. It is responsible for providing general police duties in Italy; patrolling motorways ("autostrada"), railways, airports, customs (together with the "Guardia di Finanza") as well as certain waterways, and assisting the local police forces. The Polizia di Stato is a civil police force, but it is militarily organized. This does not mean that it is a military institution, but its structure is based on the military. The Polizia di Stato is the principal Italian police force for the maintenance of public security (since it is run directly from the "Dipartimento della Pubblica Sicurezza" or Department of Public Security), and the keeping of public order. It is a police force in contrast to the other main police forces of Italy, the Carabinieri, which is a military police (gendarmerie) force and the Guardia di Finanza, the Italian customs/borders/financial police that also falls in the military corps category.

The headquarters of the Polizia di Stato are located in Rome where the offices of its chief, commonly referred to as "Capo della Polizia" (Chief of the Police), are located. The force is organized on a regional and provincial basis, thus every major Italian town or city has a main police station (called a Questura) run by the Polizia di Stato which is run by a "Questore" (the provincial commander). In smaller settlements, the offices of Polizia di Stato are run by a "Vice Questore Aggiunto" (Vice Adjunted Questore) or by a Commissario Capo (Chief Commissioner). There are also several sub-stations for various districts.

• Italian Police

• (Italian) Official website
• (English) Official website