Question time
During today's question time, regional councillor Laura Pernazza (FI) questioned councillor Simona Meloni on the strengthening of the role of Provincial police in Umbria in the wildlife hunting sector. Pernazza asked to know "what commitments this Council wants to make aimed at relaunching the Provincial Police; whether there is a desire to extend the Convention currently in force with the Province of Terni to the Province of Perugia, in order to strengthen the coordination of the activity of culling wild fauna, with clear benefits for the agricultural sector and beyond; whether the Region intends to increase the financial contribution provided for by the Convention, currently equal to only 20 thousand euros per year as reimbursement of expenses, a sum clearly underestimated compared to the volume of annual interventions and the real operational needs; whether there is a desire to expand the involvement of the Provincial Police in the role of control body on the regional territory in matters of fishing and hunting; whether the Regional Council intends to issue an ad hoc regional law, which regulates in a structural and permanent way the role of the Provincial Police in the management of wildlife and hunting and in the protection of the environment".
The current staffing
Pernazza also underlined that “the current staffing of these police forces is extremely limited, with only seven personnel in Terni and about 25 in Perugia and a limited operational capacity, with negative repercussions on matters of regional competence, such as hunting, fishing and environmental protection. Furthermore, the President, when asked in the Chamber about the relaunch of the role of the Provinces, declared herself absolutely in favour of this prospect”. Councillor Meloni replied that: “The Umbria Region has signed two agreements currently in place with the Forestry Carabinieri and with the Provincial Police of Terni for specific activities for surveillance and control in fishing and hunting matters. We know well how fundamental the role of the Provincial Police was in the years in which the Province operated with respect to surveillance on the territory before the reform, which created a misalignment with respect to its initial competences and resources. However, there is law 157/92 which establishes that wildlife control plans are authorised by the Region and coordinated by the Provincial Police forces. This coordination activity is carried out in both Provinces regardless of existing agreements, as required by national law".
Financial resources
“It is true that the numbers of surveillance are very low today, for this reason the Regional Council is making the necessary assessments to promote and support the activities of the Provincial Police. It is clear that the relaunch actions will have to deal with the financial resources of the current regulatory perimeter. The coordination activity in the interventions for the slaughter of wild fauna is already carried out by the Provincial Police of Perugia, but we are working to ensure that a specific agreement is also stipulated with the Provincial Police of Perugia for surveillance and control activities in both fishing and hunting matters. We are therefore evaluating the possibility of increasing the resources, including those to be allocated to the Province of Terni which currently amount to 20 thousand euros, but I want to underline that to date there are difficulties in reporting the resources assigned anyway. With respect to the agreement with the Province of Perugia we are working to build a proposal in the second half of this year. We are well aware that the 30 thousand euros highlighted in the agreement are insufficient to be able to increase the human resources to be employed. We are trying to understand however if these resources can be sufficient for at least a half year. The expansion of the involvement of the Provincial Police in the role of control bodies on the regional territory both in fishing and hunting matters represents the object of the agreement already stipulated with the Province of Terni and which must also represent the basis for building the agreement with that of Perugia”.
Insufficient interventions
In her reply, Pernazza said she was “not satisfied with the answer because it was too generic and because, beyond the feared financial commitment, I would have liked greater impetus and courage in the choices that concern the Provincial Police. The forecast of 20 thousand euros of annual contribution for the Provincial Police of Terni, which carries out 6 thousand interventions, is not even enough to pay for one work unit. Many Regions have had different impulses and considerations. We asked to invest and understand the role of the Provincial Police, especially in support of the smaller Municipalities where their interventions could also be fundamental in other areas such as security. There is a lack of true will to meet the needs of the Provinces and therefore of the citizens” (source: Regional Council of Umbria).
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