The Italian Intelligence and Security Services
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[Who we are]
[Government and Parliament]
[The structure]
[Links to sites of interest]
[A BRIEF HISTORY]
[THE INTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY SERVICES TODAY]
[WHAT THE SERVICES DO]
[HOW TO BECOME A MEMBER OF THE SERVICES]
[REPORTS TO PARLIAMENT]
[REFERENCE LAWS AND REGULATIONS]
[PROJECTS FOR REFORM]
Who we are | A brief history
Until the beginning of last century, intelligence activities had been substantially carried out without specialized bodies, specific coordination or direction. The setting up of the first intelligence service, called «Ufficio I», within the Army General Staff, dates back to 1900. «Ufficio I» had the task of providing intelligence support to the Supreme Command.
In 1927 the intelligence service was formalized by a legislative act, Royal Decree n. 70 of 6.2.1927. This decree established the structure of the Army General Staff and created a «Bureau», called «Military Information Service» (SIM), directed by the Army Chief of General Staff. SIM had two branches: offensive, for intelligence collection, and defensive, for counterespionage. Similar Services were set up in the Navy and in the Air Force. Except for a short period, during which the defensive section of SIM temporarily acted as an independent counterespionage Service, the structure of SIM remained unchanged until 8 September 1943.
After the war, the intelligence service was gradually re-established, still within the Army General Staff. When the Ministries of War, of the Navy and of the Air Force were unified within the Ministry of Defence, on 30 March 1949 the Intelligence Services of the three armed forces were finally reorganized and a single central Service established: the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces (SIFAR), directed by the Chief of the Defence General Staff.
Each armed force had its own “Intelligence and Current Status Section” (SIOS), headed by the relevant Chief of General Staff. The three SIOS, which had technical-military intelligence and military policing tasks, also cooperated and liaised with SIFAR.
Within the Defence General Staff, SIFAR gradually evolved, with Presidential decree n.1477 of 18 November 1965 on the peacetime structure of the Defence, Army, Navy and Air Force General Staffs. This act established the Defence intelligence Service (SID), directed by the Chief of the Defence General Staff.
SID was tasked to:
•collect information, protect military secrets and all other national security/defense related issues;
•prevent attacks to the national defensive system.
SID ceased to exist in 1977, when the Intelligence and Military Security Service (SISMI) was established.
In the past, intelligence on internal security was collected by the Ministry of the Interior. Centrally, these activities were performed by a coordination office established within the General Direction for Public Security, and in periphery, by ordinary public security structures. The areas of responsibility included the prevention of crimes against State security and public economy and the surveillance of foreigners threatening the security and the institutions of the nation.
A ministerial decree, dated 1 June 1974, implemented Cabinet decisions by establishing the «Anti-terrorism Inspectorate General». This body was tasked to coordinate intelligence at the operational level, and to carry out all actions for granting internal security, as well as to prevent and counter terrorism. This Inspectorate - reorganized in 1976 and re-named security service (SDS) - was abolished by law n. 801 of 24 October 1977. While its enforcement tasks were transferred to the UCIGOS (now named DCPP - Direzione Centrale Polizia di Prevenzione - Central Direction of Preventive Police), its intelligence functions in defence of the State security are today carried out by SISDE.
(*) Law n.25, 1997, has established a single Intelligence and Security Department (RIS), common to all three armed forces. RIS has taken up the tasks formerly performed by the SIOS of each armed force: a more mature organization, closer to that of most European countries.