Data are based on a qualitative study concerning to the changes that have affected the police (national and local), with respect to their functions and their organizational-cultural models. The objective of the exploratory research is to investigate how the macro-transformations of security conditions and regulatory provisions are reflected in the organisation, functions and practices of police officers. In particular, the study is aiming to deepen the knowledge on the nature, functions, tasks and training needs of the Local Police and of those who operate in the proximity services of the National Police. The corpus of data is composed of 6 focus groups and 18 interviews conducted in three different Lombardy cities: Milan, Bergamo and Varese. The focus groups, two for each city, involved respectively local police officers and agents. The interviews, on the other hand, were carried out involving representatives of public and private institutions, and operators of the police forces (both local and national) working in the selected territories. The data collected concern: the perception and representation of the urban contexts included in relation to the problems of urban security; the perception of the professional role of the police officers; the functions and activities carried out in the daily routine; the evaluation and satisfaction of their own work; the relationship with citizens and the coordination with other security operators. All focus groups and interviews have been transcribed and anonymized in order to make the participants unidentifiable and ensure their anonymity.

29 individuals (focus groups) and 19 individuals (interviews). Convenience sampling. The participants selection took place by directly contacting the local and national police in the three cities considered, which then proceeded to the selection of agents and officials to be involved in the research. The research team have notably explained the need to include in the selection both agents and officials directly involved in local services, or in possession of an adequate knowledge of them

face to face interview

focus group