Force Report
Dino Marcellino investigates the air arm of Italy’s Guardia di Finanza – a militarised police force with almost 100 fixed- and rotary-wing assets in its ranks for a range of lawenforcement and rescue missions.
Guardia di Finanza
law-enforcers
The Guardia di Finanza (GdF, Financial Guard) – also colloquially known as ‘Fiamme Gialle’, or ‘Yellow Flames’ – is an Italian law enforcement agency under the authority of the Ministry of Economy and Finance. It’s a police force with a military structure and is primarily responsible for dealing with financial crime and smuggling.
The GdF performs a range of duties, mainly directed at protecting the financial institutions of Italy and the European Union. Its current staff of around 65,000 personnel is involved in daily operations on the ground, at sea and in the air.
On Italian territory the GdF’s tasks include investigation and prevention of financial crimes, and contributions to maintaining public order, with an additional task of providing rescue services in the mountains and at sea.
Another primary mission is defence and control of Italian borders – the GdF traces its origins back to 1774, when it was founded to protect territories under the King of …
