Police forces: who does what and how to report a crime

Why there are so many

Italy has several police forces with partly overlapping remits, for historical reasons. For a citizen the useful distinction is this:

Force	Reports to	Handles	Where you find it
Polizia di Stato	Ministry of the Interior, civilian force	Public order, crime, passports, residence permits, motorways, railways, cybercrime	Questura in every provincial capital, stations in cities
Arma dei Carabinieri	Military force with police duties	Crime, emergencies, local presence, environment, health (NAS)	A station in almost every municipality
Guardia di Finanza	Ministry of Economy	Tax and financial crime, smuggling, counterfeiting, public funds fraud, money laundering	Provincial commands
Polizia Locale	The municipality	Traffic, ZTL, local fines, trade, building, residency checks	The municipal command
Fire brigade	Ministry of the Interior	Fire, technical rescue, disasters	Provincial stations

For an ordinary report, the Polizia di Stato and the Carabinieri are equivalent: go to whichever is closer. In small municipalities there are usually only Carabinieri.

The numbers people actually call

• 112 — the single European emergency number: police, ambulance, fire. Free, works without credit and even without a SIM. The control room routes you.
• 113 (police), 115 (fire), 118 (medical emergency) still work in many areas.
• 117 — Guardia di Finanza.
• 1530 — emergencies at sea, coastguard.
• 1522 — domestic violence and stalking, 24 hours, in several languages.
• 114 — child emergency line.
• 116117 — non-urgent out-of-hours doctor, where active.

Denuncia and querela: the difference that matters

Two different things, and confusing them can cost you a right.

• A denuncia reports a fact constituting a crime. For offences prosecuted on the authorities' own initiative that is enough: proceedings go ahead regardless.
• A querela is a report that also contains an express request that the offender be punished. For offences requiring a querela, no proceedings start without one.

How to file a report

Where

At any Carabinieri station, police station or Questura, anywhere in Italy: you do not have to return to the place where it happened. It is free and you do not need a lawyer.

What to bring

• An identity document. If that was stolen too, they will identify you anyway.
• A precise list of what was taken, with serial numbers, the phone's IMEI, registration plates, descriptions of items.
• The context: date, time, place, how it happened, any witnesses.
• If you have already blocked cards or the SIM, the block references.

What you get

A copy of the report. Keep it: the insurer needs it, document duplicates need it, and you need it if the stolen document is used by someone else.

Reporting online

The Polizia di Stato's Denunce Online service is used with SPID or CIE, including through the IO app, and separates two routes:

• a loss report — documents, phones, tablets, payment cards, permits, number plates — is completed online, with no office visit. The filed document reaches your personal area within 96 hours;
• a preliminary report for theft, fraud, computer fraud, unauthorised system access, card misuse and online defamation must instead be formalised at an office within 48 hours, by appointment, and is still at a pilot stage in part of the country.

For offences outside the list, and whenever you are unsure, the counter remains the safe route.

What to do, in order, if something is stolen

1. Block payment cards (your bank's number), the SIM (your operator), online logins.
2. Report it to the Carabinieri or the police, asking for it to count as a querela as well.
3. Request duplicates of your documents from the relevant offices, with a copy of the report.
4. Tell your insurer, if you hold a policy: almost all require the report within a few days.
5. If a vehicle was stolen, the report allows the theft to be recorded and suspends some related obligations.

Fraud, the internet, card payments

For online fraud, phishing, digital identity theft or a compromised account, the reference is the Polizia Postale e delle Comunicazioni, which runs a dedicated reporting portal and has offices around the country.

Before reporting, gather evidence: screenshots of conversations, email addresses and IBANs used, transfer receipts, payment history. A documented report has options a generic one does not.

For unauthorised card charges, dispute them with your bank as well, within the deadlines set by payment rules: a police report alone does not bring the money back.

If you are stopped

• You have a duty to be identified. Without documents you may be taken to an office for the time identification requires.
• You have the right to know why you were stopped.
• On arrest or questioning you have the right to a defence lawyer and, if you do not speak Italian, to an interpreter.
• Traffic fines are challenged afterwards, by appeal: arguing on the spot achieves nothing and ruins everyone's day.

Domestic violence and dangerous situations

There is a fast, specific route. The number 1522 is free, open every day, anonymous, and connects you to anti-violence centres. The police have dedicated tools, including the Questore's formal warning, which can be used without waiting for a trial.

You do not need regular documents, or registered residence, to ask for help.

Common mistakes

• Delaying the report. For querela offences the deadline is three months, and for insurers often only days.
• Not asking for the report to count as a querela.
• Going to the Polizia Locale about a theft. Not their job: they will send you elsewhere.
• Not recording IMEIs and serial numbers before you need them. Do it now, not later.
• Filing a vague online-fraud report with no screenshots or IBAN: without evidence it goes nowhere.