New Highway Code, the Carabinieri unions: «From driving permits to the collection of fines, too much bureaucracy on us»

Some Carabinieri unions are raising the alarm about some solutions currently envisaged by the text of the new Highway Code. From Usmia Carabinieri to Sim Carabinieri, there is no shortage of criticism of the draft legislative decree for revision. In particular, measures affecting three areas have come under the scrutiny: driving permits, installment payments and collection of fines. Solutions which, is the message, if they are ultimately approved by parliament as they are, risk worsening the bureaucratic tasks entrusted to the Army Stations. Hence the slogan: "More bureaucracy in the stations, less security in the area". The provisions contained in the provision risk leading to an increase in administrative obligations for the investigating bodies.

«Carabinieri stations must have more and more time and resources to dedicate to their main mission: being present in the area, preventing, listening to citizens and ensuring local safety», underlined Carmine Caforio, general secretary of Usmia Carabinieri. «While the General Commander of the Carabinieri Salvatore Luongo works to reduce bureaucratic burdens to a minimum and strengthen the Stations by asking for new resources to make up for the shortage of around 10,000 Carabinieri and guarantee increasingly effective and widespread local security, new tasks risk taking precious resources away from the control of the territory», he also added.

The general secretary of SIM Carabinieri Antonio Serpi has no doubts: the current draft legislative decree «transforms the Carabinieri into employees of the tax registry and into agents of forced collection, emptying the streets with a detriment to the control activity of the territory and at the same time flooding the barracks with paperwork».

«We look carefully at the new provisions relating to temporary driving permits, the installment of sanctions and forced collection - clarified Caforio -. These are further investigations, checks, notifications and responsibilities that risk falling on the departments, tying up personnel who are now essential to guarantee the operational service. We cannot ask the Stations to do more and more and, at the same time, burden them with new bureaucratic obligations, especially at a time when the new criminal phenomena associated with illegal immigration are of particular concern and the staff shortage is particularly felt at the territorial garrisons".

Requests on the competences of the Prefectures

For Usmia Carabinieri it is therefore necessary that, in the continuation of the legislative process, the distribution of competences is carefully evaluated, maintaining those administrative activities that require asset assessments and specialized procedures at the Prefectures and avoiding further burdens for the investigation bodies, already tested by a chronic shortage of personnel.