The State Police, on April 1, 2021, celebrates 40 years since the promulgation of Law 121/81 which, in 1981, "demilitarized" the Public Security Guard Corps and established the State Police as the first police force civil with general competence as well as having redesigned the country's public security system.
The origins of State Police they must be searched until 11 July 1852, the day of the foundation of the Public Security Guard Corps. Consequently, the State Police, in its various incarnations, has been part of the history of Italy since its foundation. The State Police went through the most critical historical events together with Italy, such as the battles for unification, the two world wars or the Years of Lead, and supported it day by day in its daily battles.
Since 1 April 1981, the Department of Public Safety has assumed its current structure and is headed by the Chief of Police. The Department of Public Safety wanted to highlight the importance of the anniversary with a book entitled "The reform of the administration of public security" by Prefect Carlo Mosca, who unfortunately passed away a few days ago, who was one of the inspirers of that reform.
The book is introduced by messages of the President of the Republic Mattarella, of the Minister of the Interior Lamorgese and of the Undersecretary Franco Gabrielli. The 12 chapters of the book unfold the most significant themes of that reform that was distant in time and yet still so current. Each chapter is enriched by the contribution of reflection from a personality from the religious, scientific, political or institutional world. Inside the work intervene Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, the Minister Marta Cartabia, the Attorney General Giovanni Salvi, the prof. Michele Ainis, Dr. Gianni Letta and then again professor Giuliano Amato, Marino Bartoletti, Eugenio Gaudio, Annamaria Giannini, Gaetano Manfredi, Antonio Romano, Maurizio Viroli.
In his message, the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, illustrates how the Police is one of the faces of the State, and states that "the history of the Police is part of the story of the building of the unitary State, it has followed its constitutional evolution guaranteeing loyalty in carrying out its tasks as an authority responsible for maintaining public order" and how it is entrusted with "a mission not dissipated in a merely security task, but rather explicitly projected towards the care of the democratic order of the country". The Head of State concludes by thanking: "For the many fronts of commitment, mindful of the sacrifices and the price of lives paid in carrying out the tasks, I renew the Republic's gratitude to all the police operators called to revive the mission assigned to them every day by the Law because, as their motto states: Under the law of freedom".
The Undersecretary of State at the Presidency of the Council and previously Chief of Police, Franco Gabrielli, explains the intentions behind the work: "forty years after its launch, we wanted to celebrate this cornerstone of our security system, inviting personalities from the institutions, of the world of culture, journalism and civil society to develop the main themes on which this extraordinary law had reforming effects".
The book also contains the intervention of Marta Cartabia, the first female President of the Constitutional Court and current Minister of Justice, who defines the role of Law 121/81 in establishing equality between men and women within the forces of the order, with the abolition of the female police force preceded by the entry of the female quota starting from 1 March 1961. Cartabia intervenes by saying how "law 121 removed the legal obstacles to the effective equality of women in the police service and symbolically it marked the end of equality conditioned on gender attitudes. Forty years later, it is significant to note that the female presence in the police force is particularly qualified. Once the legal obstacles have disappeared, women with their work, their dedication and their professionalism have shown the contribution they are able to offer to social life, even in this area, which was traditionally closed to them".
Michele Ainis' comment highlights one of the fundamental aspects of Law 121/81, namely the creation of the Police Union, within a broader process of democratization. Ainis highlights in particular article 82 which "sets out the trade union rights of the police forces".
There are 181 pages full of images, including historical ones, which recall the transition from military police administration to civil guarantee administration, illuminated by the spirit and dictates of the Republican Constitution, at the service of the citizens and the democratic institutions of the country.
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