A severe staffing shortage affecting local police forces across the Lombardy region has left roughly a thousand officer vacancies unfilled, according to regional union representatives. Daniele Vincini, regional secretary of the autonomous union Sulpm, stated that the ongoing personnel deficit leaves critical gaps in municipal security and daily street patrols.
The staffing data highlights the strain on territorial oversight outside major urban centers. According to Sulpm union figures, approximately 950 operators service a population of over a million residents in the Brescia area. With roughly 300 officers stationed directly inside the city, only 650 personnel remain to monitor the surrounding territory encompassing nearly one million residents, leaving a shortfall of at least 250 local police officers.
Regional Security Consultations and Political Divides
The municipal staffing crisis and urban security demands were addressed during a regional consultation table meeting with Lombardy’s Security and Civil Protection Councillor Romano Maria La Russa. Center-left mayors representing the drafting municipalities presented a five-pillar reform framework aimed at updating urban safety standards and providing enhanced protections for municipal police personnel. According to Sulpm documentation, the proposals echo an earlier set of demands submitted on July 23 of the previous year, which the union claims went largely unresolved.
The consultation underscored regional political divisions. The document submitted to La Russa—a prominent member of the right-wing Fratelli d’Italia party—was signed exclusively by center-left mayors, alongside a civic administration from Como. Center-right mayors representing Lecco and Sondrio notably abstained from signing the policy document.
Key Union Demands for Operational Safety
The union’s platform centers on several specific operational adjustments. Sulpm is pushing for an update to regional regulations governing self-protection tools, including body cameras, extensible batons, and pepper spray, alongside a formal ministerial clarification requested from the regional government. Additionally, the union seeks structural and stable regional funding for “street tutor” figures to manage nightlife crowds and overtourism pressures.
A primary demand involves establishing an institutional channel with the national government for direct, free access to the SDI (Investigation System) database. Vincini emphasized that local police officers currently lack direct access to run checks during field stops without routing inquiries through the Carabinieri or state police.
National Reform Stalled and Legal Protections
Beyond regional measures, the broader debate centers on a long-delayed national reform bill for local police forces. Vincini noted that the legislative overhaul has stalled in the Senate after decades of delay, warning that the final text risks leaving local operators with inadequate legal protections. The Sulpm union, representing approximately 1,200 tesserati tra i 9.200 agenti in servizio in Lombardy, advocates for the formal recognition of local police as an official state police force.
Current legal classifications restrict local officers’ public security status and authorization to carry weapons off-duty strictly to their municipal territorial jurisdiction and commuting hours, unlike national police forces. Vincini pointed to the June 22 death of 39-year-old local police officer Francesco Imprezzabile during a high-speed vehicle pursuit in Peschiera Borromeo. The driver of the fleeing vehicle, Genti Berisha, received an eight-year prison sentence in Brescia for international cocaine trafficking. However, under current legal frameworks, the family of the slain officer does not qualify for the same state compensation tiers afforded to national law enforcement personnel.