Police Performance

Abstract

It remains to assess how well the Italian police performed in the task allotted them by the Allies, that of keeping the peace and suppressing crime, thus freeing the Allies to concentrate on other things. The preceding chapters have attempted to describe their part in the myriad problems that arose during the occupation and as the war progressed. According to the Allies, and to the police themselves, there appeared to have been no shortage of effort on the police’s part to maintain law and order.¹ Results, however, were generally disappointing. The grain campaign was judged a failure by the Allies, armed gangs continued to terrorize the countryside, violent demonstrations were frequent, the black market burgeoned and the crime rate continued to increase. Why then were the police not more successful? The police’s own judgement is that it was a question of the lack of numbers, effective structure, morale and support, while the Sicily RPSO described them as ‘underpaid, working without adequate means [and] surrounded by temptation and corruption’.² The story is one of frustration and waste, a refusal by AFHQ and the Italian government to listen to experienced officers and the AC, a poor quality force, and of crime-fighting being set as the lowest priority of the police forces.