16 Facts About Carabinieri

Carabinieri are the national gendarmerie of Italy who primarily carry out domestic and foreign policing duties.

Unlike the Polizia di Stato, the Carabinieri have responsibility for policing the military, and a number of members regularly participate in military missions abroad.

Carabinieri have policing powers that can be exercised at any time and in any part of the country, and they are always permitted to carry their assigned weapon as personal equipment .

Carabinieri are often referred to as "La Benemerita" as they are a trusted and prestigious law enforcement institution in Italy.

The Italian unification saw the number of divisions increased, and on 24 January 1861 the Carabinieri were appointed the "First Force" of the new national military organization.

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The role of the Carabinieri was to act as barrier troops, setting up machine gun posts to control the rear of the attacking regiments and prevent desertion.

Subsequently, large numbers of Carabinieri joined the Italian resistance movement to fight German and Italian fascists.

In Yugoslavia the Carabinieri formed a battalion of the Italian partisan Garibaldi Division, which fought alongside the Yugoslav partisans against German and Croatian Ustase Forces.

Carabinieri were in the forefront of many internal conflicts in Italy in the late 20th century, such as the Years of Lead and the Second Mafia War .

In recent years Carabinieri units have been dispatched on peacekeeping missions, including Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq.

At the Sea Island Conference of the G8 in 2004, Carabinieri were given a mandate to establish a Centre of Excellence for Stability Police Units to spearhead the development of training and doctrinal standards for civilian police units attached to international peacekeeping missions.

Carabinieri are organised on a territorial basis for law-enforcement missions.

Carabinieri perform military police and security duties for the Ministry of Defence, military high commands, the offices of the military judiciary and allied military organisations in Italy and abroad.

Carabinieri officers are charged with surveillance and security at Italian embassies and consulates abroad, performing the same services entrusted to the Marine Corps Embassy Security Group in United States diplomatic and consular offices.

From 1943 to 1945, the Carabinieri were accountable to the Control Commission of the Allied Military Government .

Originally, the Carabinieri were issued a distinctive uniform in black with silver braid around the collar and cuffs, edges trimmed in scarlet and epaulettes in silver.