National Gendarmerie (Istalia)

The National Gendarmerie of the Republic (Istalian: Gendarmeria Nazionale della Repubblica) is one of two national police forces of Istalia, along with the State Police of the Republic. It is a branch of the Istalian Armed Forces placed under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Interior, with additional duties to the Ministry of Defense. Its area of responsibility includes smaller towns, rural and suburban areas, while the State Police, a civilian force, is in charge of cities and downtowns. Due to its military status, the Gendarmerie also fulfills a range of military and defense missions. The Gendarmes also have a cybercrime division. It has a strength of more than 110,000 personnel as of 4377.

Since the reorganization of the Armed Forces of 4074, the National Gendarmerie is an authonomous Arma (branch) of the Istalian Armed Forces. Previously it was one of the corps of the Istalian Army. However, in contrast to the other three branchs, at the top of the National Gendarmerie there is a General Commander (Istalian: Comandante Generale della Gendarmeria Nazionale) which rank is equivalent to the Army's Lieutenant General (Generale di Corpo d'Armata). The General Commander cannot be appointed as Chief of Defense Staff of the Istalian Armed Forces.

Missions
In Istalian, the term "police" not only refers to the forces, but also to the general concept of "maintenance of law and order" (policing). The Gendarmerie's missions belong to three categories:


 * Administrative police (Ist; polizia amministrative), upholding public order, safety checks and traffic controls, assistance to people in imminent danger, protection duties, etc.
 * Judicial police (Ist: polizia giudiziaria), handling penal law enforcement and investigation of crimes and felonies
 * Military and defense missions, including military police for the armed forces

These missions include:


 * The policing of the countryside, rivers, coastal areas, and small towns with populations under 20,000, that since 4074 are outside of the jurisdiction of the Istalian State Police (which in urban area instead convive with the gendarmerie maintaining however a prominent role). The Gendarmerie's area of responsibility represents approx. 95% of the French territory and 50% of the population of France.
 * Criminal investigations under judiciary supervision.
 * Maintaining law and order in public gatherings and demonstrations, including crowd control and other security activities.
 * Police at sea.
 * Provision of military police services to the Istalian military, on the Istalian territory as well as during foreign operations.
 * For the Presidential Guard (Ist: Guardia Presidenziale, which is part of the Gendarmerie), participation in the state's protocol and ceremonies.

Organization
The National Gendarmerie is headed by the Comando, consisting of the General Commander, the Deputy General Comandante Commander and the Chief of Staff, all located in Romula. The Chief of Staff directs, coordinates and supervises all activities of the force. It directly supervises the Directors of Administration, Health, Engineering, the motor pool and the Veterinary Commission. On the Deputy Chiefs of Staff depend the National Center for Recruitment and Selection, the Administration National Center and the Legislation Office.

Territorial Organization
The National Gendarmerie is organised on a territorial basis for law-enforcement missions. The territorial organization represents the core of the institution; it contains 80 percent of the force and is organized hierarchically in five regional commands, 20 provincial commands, 704 Company Commands and approximately 9500 Station Commands (one or more for each Istalian city).