SUMMARY

The activities of organized crime and terrorist groups share one fundamental
element: money. Without it, organizations are not able to implement any strategy of
existence and achievement of their goals whether they are enrichment or
destabilization / subversion of a system or a culture.
The money in question generates interwoven logical-sequential flows that
pass through procurement, reinvestment, recycling and utilization operations.
The... Investigative activities conducted by the various Italian and European
police forces have always focused their attention on the operational dynamics
generated by the ..... criminal / terrorist subjects / groups, thus aiming at identifying
the ..... people and the...... organized entities, while dedicating less resources to the
..... tracking activities of the financial flows generated.
Only after the attacks on the Twin Towers on 11 September 2001 did the
countries concerned, (affected) directly or indirectly, from (by)terrorist actions
understand the need to intervene in a coordinated manner by issuing regulations on
the fight against the financing of terrorism.
Terrorist financing is now a phenomenon that is not only controlled from a
legal point of view but is mainly opposed by means of appropriate intelligence
activities that make the most of the potential offered by the correct application of
anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing provisions and those of
considerable size. of data and information available today.
To the resolution of the United Nations Security Council n. 1373/01 was
followed by a series of measures adopted by the European Union and individual
states, which allowed for a complex but effective system of control and monitoring
of financial flows designed to support international terrorist actions.
The implementation of the aforementioned rules has favored a greater use of
intelligence activities with an increase in the collection, analysis, and processing of
data and information by specialized sections of the police and national security
agencies, both Italian and ester. However, the fragmentation of information sources
and the not always effective communication between the various police forces still
leaves ample room for improvement in the investigative action.
 In this perspective, it is necessary to reflect on the potential contribution that
European Local Police could offer in the context of the fight against the
phenomenon of terrorism and its financing.
In Italy, for example, in addition to national security agencies, the main police
forces employed in actions to prevent and combat the terrorist phenomenon are
represented by the Carabinieri, the State Police and the Guardia di Finanza, each
for the subjects and specializations of its competence.
The Italian Local Police, unlike other police forces, have limited territorial
jurisdiction over the City they belong to. This limitation, which may seem penalizing
to some, actually becomes a strong point since the institutional competences
attributed to it range (ranges) over 360 degrees, covering different sectors ranging
from simple identification to the criminal investigation police activities.
Operating in the proximity sector, (when operating in close proximity) in
the building........... (construction building), commercial and environmental
sectors, Local Police operators have a continuous contact with the citizens and with
those who do business. This means that the pool of data and information available
from the Local Police operator is such as to enable a first data acquisition
intelligence activity aimed at bringing out (detecting) possible operations of
recycling and financing of criminal and terrorist activities.
It therefore follows that, in view of the potential mentioned above, the Local
Police could adapt part of their procedures, supporting this adjustment with
appropriate phases of operator training, so as to be able to collect, filter, analyze
and transfer, to other national police bodies or to the judiciary compartment, those
signals (indications) collected in (upon) the territory that need to be monitored
and / or investigated.
The hypothesis of use (using) of the Local Police in the fight against the
terrorist phenomenon and of its financing cannot prescind from an adequate
selection and training of the operators. Sensitivity, instinct, professionalism,
knowledge of the phenomenon to be controlled, correct use of information channels
to be used, are just some of the skills required to be able to operate in a dynamic
and complex environment.