Western European Countries with

One or more National Police Forces

Nat'l populations Austria 8,169,929 Belgium 10,274,595 Denmark 5,368,854 Finland 5,183,545 France 59,765,983 Greece 10,645,343 Iceland 279,384 Ireland(Rep) 3,883,159 Italy 57,715,625 Luxembourg 448,569 Malta 397,499 Netherlands 16,318,199 Norway 4,525,116 Portugal 10,084,245 Spain 40,077,100 Sweden 8,876,744 Turkey SE Europe? 67,308,928

EUROPEAN POLICE AGENCIES

ORGANIZATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS

Portugal

POLÍCIA DE SEGURANÇA PÚBLICA

ESCOLA PRÁTICA DE POLÍCIA-Street officer entry level academy

INSTITUTO SUPERIOR DE CIÊNCIAS POLICIAIS E SEGURANÇA INTERNA
Entry level for Lieutenant candidates

Four year academy program culminating with academic degree and appointment as Subcomissário (roughly equivalent to Lieutenant)

Program includes 460 hours of foreign language/s

Patrol officer entry (Agente) between 20-25 years of age and one year of academy training

Guarda Nacional Republicana-national police with military character

Some of their duties include:

Conduct criminal investigations at the direction of the judicial authorities

Traffic enforcement on roads/highways

Customs enforcement

Immigration Enforcement

Assist and protect the well being of the citizens and the environment

National Defense

 

Criminal Investigative Agency for Portugal

Entry as inspector (similar to lieutenant) with certain college degrees

ITALY

Three national law enforcement agencies:

Polizia di Stato

Caribinieri

Carabinieri

116.345 sworn members

Three years of study at the Carabinieri “Officers” School:
Appointment as a second lieutenant

Academic degree in Jurisprudence

Two year additional schooling available for command rank officers with receipt of masters degree

Four rank levels:

ufficiali, ispettori, sovrintendenti, appuntati e carabinieri

18 month academy training for non-commissioned officer grades (SGT)

109.144 sworn members

5,720 sworn technical/scientific personnel

Guardia di Finanza

Five year of university level study-appointment as Lieutenant

Responsibilities in four major areas:

Polizia Finanziaria

Tax Evasion, Customs, government corruption, enforcement of gambling laws, etc..

Polizia Economica

Currency violations, fraud involving food production, various types of corporate crime, price rigging, etc.

Polizia Giudiziaria

Economic Crime, Organized Crime, Environmental Crimes, Drug trafficking, archeological theft, financial fraud, bankruptcy fraud, art counterfeiting, Customs enforcement, copyright violations, offenses against governmental entities, trade mark violations, etc.

Polizia di Sicurezza (Emergency and Disaster Preparedness, Illegal Immigration, civil defense, Border Protection/Patrol)

ITALIAN MUNICIPAL POLICE

Important Concepts/Information:

Commonalities among most European countries:

Separate career paths and entry levels for university graduates

Separate entry/career paths for criminal investigation

Uniformed police forces with national responsibilities

Multiple national uniformed police forces with differing responsibilities

Lengthy training periods

Training for lieutenants or equivalent lasting multiple years

Foreign language training throughout the training period

Criminal Investigative function part of separate national investigative agency

Municipal Police with limited functions to augment regular police and enforce municipal laws