ROME – Down from the podium: in the ranking of the municipalities that spend the most for the Municipal police, Rome has just been ousted by Venice, ending up in a poor fourth place. This is the result of the study by the Openpolis Foundation (an independent and non-profit organization that promotes projects for access to public information, transparency and democratic participation) on the expenses of Italian Municipalities for Local Police.
In this sector the primacy goes to Milan: 141.94 euros per capita, equal to a total of almost 200 million euros. In second place, not far behind is the municipality of Florence (138.92 euros per capita), followed by Venice (121.67) which had a cost of 92.30 euros therefore with an important investment of over 30 euros per capita compared to 2017, Rome (117.03) and Turin (108.04). In the ranking follows Genoa which spends 100.42 euros, followed by Bologna (98.56), Bari (92.89), Padua (86.45), Naples (77.98). Among the big cities, those to invest the least in this sector are Trieste (72.20 euros per capita), Verona (61) and Messina (54.64).
The source on which the analyzes were based are the final balance sheets for the year 2019, with reference to 31 December and the case of Rome really amazes. First of all for the numbers of road accidents – which Repubblica has often put in the spotlight – because in the capital they are beyond any possible parameter, even logical. Suffice it to say that a third of the deaths in Italian cities on the road come from Rome. An impressive statistic, which finds an explanation by “connecting the dots” of the deterioration of the city. That is the poorly reduced signage, the chronic lack of speed cameras, breathalysers (needless to mention “drogrometers”), the municipal police understaffed.
But the second surprising aspect is that linked to the colossal Roman territory to be controlled: about 1,300 km², with 16,000 different roads equivalent to 5,500 km. In the face of the alarming data on road accidents, the municipality has always entrenched itself behind the vastness of the municipality of Rome. So why is so little money being spent on the municipal police?
“The study of the Openpolis Foundation – they explain however to Asaps, association of friends of the traffic police – is precise: in the budget document the municipality can therefore enter the expenses incurred for the local police, linked to the operation and administration of the services that aim to guaranteeing the various types of security tasks. There are many items relating to expenses, which each municipal administration specifies in acts approved within the municipal council. From the traffic police to the administrative police, from the judicial police to environmental protection and urban controls, the expenses necessary for the proper functioning of the offices lead to a real ranking that intends to highlight the administrations that have spent the most for their own Local police “. The data show the per capita cash expenditure reported in the specific budget item. Higher or lower expenses do not necessarily imply a positive or negative management of the matter, of course, but with such a large municipality, like that of Rome, it is difficult to justify a lower expense than that of Florence or Venice.
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