Italy’s budget bill proposes new voluntary police reserve forces
The Italian government’s budget bill introduces voluntary reserve auxiliary forces for the Carabinieri, State Police, Guardia di Finanza, and Penitentiary Police, establishing a recruitment pipeline starting in 2027 while unions warn of institutionalized job insecurity in the security sector.
Following the model of temporary medical staffing, the 2027 budget maneuver authorizes the recruitment of up to 600 young people in 2027 and 1,000 annually starting in 2028 under a new voluntary reserve formula for auxiliary carabinieri, lanotiziagiornale.it reported. Candidates must be under 26 years old, hold at least a middle school diploma, and meet the physical, psychological, and aptitudinal requirements for military enlistment.
Funding and Recruitment Timeline for Auxiliary Forces
Article 93 of the budget bill sets the financial framework for the military reserve component. To fund the recruitment, the maneuver authorizes a public expenditure of 41.78 million euros in 2027, 82.8 million euros in 2028, and 118.39 million euros in 2029. Funding will rise to 156.51 million euros in 2030 before stabilizing at 141.44 million euros annually from 2031 onward.
Beyond the Carabinieri, the legislative package prepares the groundwork for auxiliary reserves across the State Police, Guardia di Finanza, and Penitentiary Police. Article 96 establishes two distinct funds to finance these future organizational rollouts, allocating a combined total of more than 74 million euros for 2027 alone.
The first fund, dedicated to current operational expenses, receives 21.62 million euros in 2027, 108.05 million euros in 2028, and 210.14 million euros in 2029. These allocations increase to 277.8 million euros in 2030 and level off at 251.06 million euros annually from 2031. A second capital investment fund receives 52.54 million euros in 2027 and 38.92 million euros in 2028, bringing total initial available funds to 74.16 million euros in 2027 and 146.96 million euros in 2028.
Police Unions Criticize Precarious Staffing and Budget Gaps
Police labor representatives have sharply criticized the legislative direction, arguing that part-time or auxiliary recruitment fails to address chronic staffing shortages within permanent rosters.
The Government not only chooses to not adequately fund the security sector, leaving the budget law devoid of the necessary additional resources for law enforcement, but takes a further and very serious step: it decides to make it precarious.
That warning comes from Pietro Colapietro, general secretary of the police union Silp Cgil. Giuseppe Tiani, general secretary of the Italian Police Union (Siap), similarly cautioned that introducing voluntary auxiliary reserves without strengthening permanent staffing levels risks institutionalizing a state-sponsored precarious workforce in national security.