Municipal Police, the service and the expenditure in small and large municipalities

#LeParoleDiOpenCivitas is a communication campaign by SOSE and openpolis to explain the key concepts of fiscal federalism through the publication of podcasts and in-depth articles.

The municipal police are the Italian municipalities’ operational arm. They deal with many different issues: compliance with the highway code, illegal trade, traffic management, urban safety and control over the territory.

This function includes activities that differ across municipalities. The daily local police’ activities in a small town are not the same as in a large city and entail different costs impacting the allocation of resources to each local authority to carry out its functions.

The implementation of fiscal federalism is a challenging work that must consider these different aspects in assessing the expenditure levels and allocating the equalisation resources among municipalities. Sose carries out this activity based on variables concerning all municipalities' fundamental functions, including local police.

2.69 billion euros, the total historical expenditure for the local police function of all the municipalities in Regions with ordinary statutes in 2017.

We want to analyse the local police’s activities, the variables determining each municipality's standard expenditure, and the levels of the services offered.

The services provided by local police

We often think that local police deal with the highway code: traffic regulation, penalties in case of violations, traffic conditions. This activity is only one of the seven fundamental functions municipalities must carry out and includes many other activities.

Defining parameters to allocate resources is essential for the fair implementation of federalism.

Within the municipality, the local police perform official controls on commercial activities, such as premises, shops, market stalls, and administrative functions, including issuing permits and subsequent checks.

As anticipated, the service differs from a municipality to another. For example, in small municipalities, the service is generally not provided continuously, 24 hours a day, as in larger cities. In less populated towns, the primary activities are road management and controls on citizens' residences and commercial activities, while in metropolitan areas, they focus on road accidents and public order. Moreover, large municipalities can rely on the more significant deployment of forces than small towns.

0.62 local police officers per 1,000 inhabitants in small municipalities. In cities, 1.68 per 100,000 residents, three times more.

The definition of standard expenditure needs, entrusted to Sose by law, must consider these differences.

The Standard expenditure needs are indicators estimating municipalities' financial needs to carry out their essential functions. See: Expenditure needs

For this reason, it is essential to define the determinants of standard expenditure needs, the factors that define each municipality’s expenditure based on its territorial, social, and demographic characteristics.

The determinants of the local police function

The local police function includes 19 variables determining how much a municipality should spend. The demographic size has the most relevant impact: the more populated the municipality is, the higher the standard expenditure needs for the service will be.

Many factors influence the expenditure for local police.

Another fundamental aspect is the number of accidents: the municipalities affected by many road accidents incur a greater expense in the local police function. Other variables are the number of employees in the tourism sector, the population density, the number of schools, and the presence of armed local police or working at night. A higher standard expenditure is also linked to the number of market days and stalls, the municipality's location by the sea and the number of arrests and complaints.

To estimate the standard expenditure needs, it is necessary to weigh all these factors considering the municipality's size. In the small ones, with fewer than 500 inhabitants, the average standard expenditure is 31.40 euros per capita. In the larger ones, it is three times higher: 95.56 euros per capita.

Local Police: the larger the municipality is, the greater the estimated standard expenditure is per capita standard expenditure needs for the local police function (2017)

SOURCE: elaboration by openpolis on SOSE database (last updated on 15 March 2021)

Roads are the decisive factor for small municipalities. In large cities, it is the population size.

Furthermore, it is interesting to understand how the different factors contribute to defining the standard expenditure needs.

The standard expenditure needs of municipalities with less than 500 inhabitants are equal to 31 euros per capita, of which 15 are for road management, nine are due to the number of employees in tourism sectors (events, accommodation, catering). Factors such as the number of schools, market days and the number of tourists follow.

47.6% of the standard expenditure needs of municipalities with less than 500 inhabitants is due to the municipal road network.

Completely different determinants define the 100 euros per capita estimated for this function in large cities: about 41 euros depend on the demographic size, 11.64 on road accidents, 7.58 on the population density.

In the north-east, historical expenditure is lower than the standard one

After estimating the standard expenditure needs for the local police sector for each municipality, it is interesting to compare it with the historical expenditure.

The difference between historical and standard expenditure is not uniform

In the northwest and the south, the historical expenditure exceeds the standard one by about one euro per capita. In particular, in north-western Italy, the historical expenditure per capita amounts to 54.62 euros (against 53.76 per capita of the standard one).

The figure is significantly lower in southern Italy: the standard expenditure is 45.47 euros per capita compared to 46.49 euros of the historical one.

This means that in these areas of the country, the average expenditure for the municipal police exceeds the one estimated based on the territorial and socio-demographic characteristics of the population. However, this is not true for all municipalities: in 57% of those in the northwest and 46% in the south, historical expenditure is lower than the standard one. In the northeast, the figure exceeds 75%.

Local police: about three municipalities out of four in the northeast show a standard expenditure exceeding the historical one.

Historical and standard expenditures for the local police function in all municipalities of the Regions with Ordinary Statutes (2017)

SOURCE: openpolis elaboration on Sose database (last updated on 15 March 2021)

In north-eastern Italy, the average standard expenditure per capita is 45.94 euros and exceeds the historical one by 3 euros (42.97 euros per capita).

In the northeast, the historical expenditure for the local police function is lower by 6.5% than the standard one.

A historical expenditure lower than a standard one can depend on various factors. The local authority could spend less due to greater efficiency or a lack of the resources necessary to guarantee an adequate level of services.

More specifically, the police service during the night provided in many municipalities in the northeast (64% of municipalities compared to 47 % of the national average) and high indicators related to tourism, such as catering staff and tourist presences, contribute to increasing the standard expenditure.

How the level of expenditure varies according to the services offered.

A complete analysis of the expenditure must consider the number of services the local police function offers, in other words, municipalities' performance in this specific sector.

Considering the ten major cities of the regions with ordinary statutes, we see that four municipalities, Milan, Florence, Bologna and Venice, have a historical expenditure higher than the standard one and an above-average level of services.

Municipalities’ performance analysis in the local police function

The levels of expenditure and services for the local police function in the most populated Italian municipalities of the Regions with ordinary statutes (2017)

SOURCE: openpolis elaboration on Sose database (last updated on 15 March 2021)

THINGS TO KNOW

  • The municipalities are distributed over four quadrants based on the level of expenditure and the number of services offered, both evaluated on a 1: 10 scale.
  • The municipalities in the bottom right quadrant incur a historical expenditure higher than the standard one and provide fewer services than the municipalities' average in the same population group.
  • The municipalities in the top left quadrant show a historical expenditure lower than the standard one and a level of services higher than the average of the municipalities in the same population group.
  • The municipalities in the bottom left quadrant show a historical expenditure lower than the standard one and provide fewer services than the average of the municipalities in the same population group.
  • The municipalities in the top right quadrant show a historical expenditure higher than the standard one and a higher service level than the average of the municipalities in the same population group.

In Genoa and Bari, where the historical expenditure exceeds the standard one, the service level is significantly lower (with 4 on the 1:10 scale elaborated by Sose. Naples, Rome and Verona record a lower historical expenditure for the local police function than the standard one and

provide an average quantity of services. Finally, Turin has an intermediate position both in terms of service level and expenditure.