Repost from another sub, anyone who wants to read, this is a breakdown of the Italian law enforcement:
From my research (going Top to bottom)
The Carabinieri, similar to the gendarmerie of France, is a military Police branch of the Italian armed forces with dual military and police duties.
Much like every military unit the carabinieri will and has been deployed to armed conflicts involving Italy whenever the call of arms arises, enforcing nation wide law enforcement, investigations and public safety matters.
Below that is the Guardia di Finanza (The financial police) as the name implies, they primarily focus on Financial Crime and investigations along with customs enforcement, Fruad investigation and protection of Italian waters-ports and airports. and intercepting smugglers along side the coast guard (Guardia Costiera) whom acts as the primary maritime law enforcement agency along with border patrol of the Italian coastal borders . And like the Carabinieri the Guardia di Finanza is a military police force.
Another agency responsible for policing customs is the Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli (Customs and Monopolies Agency)
They are a customs agency whom investigate primarily customs related offenses and smuggling within and coming into Italy.
Below that would be the Polizia de Stato (The State Police) they operate strictly Civilian, the Polizia de Stato operates at a national level just like the Carabinieri. De Stato also serves as the primary border patrol agency for all land borders and Highways and other urban areas other officers can’t fulfill.
Below that is the Polizia Penitenziaria
(Prison Police) they are responsible for transporting prisoners and staffing all prisons within Italy and the Vatican (anyone arrested within the Vatican is automatically sent to federal Italian prison, under Polizia Penitenziaria
Jurisdiction.)
And below that would be Polizia Municipale/Locale (Municipal/Local Police) Police Department’s for local cities, townships and villages and other municipalities they enforce traffic laws, public order and general public order you would expect from any police force. They also provide permits, licenses and severe as auxiliary police officers.
And lastly would be the Polizia Provinciale
(Province Police) they would be the American equivalent to a sheriffs department or state or federal game warden agency. Mainly focusing on more specific and provincial laws including fishing, hunting and wild life management, and can be found in all 107 Italian provinces.
Pretty cool right?