The DIA is a specialized investigation body with the exclusive task of ensuring the proceeding, in a coordinated form, of the preventive investigation activities regarding the organized crime, and to carry out judiciary police investigations related exclusively to crimes attributable to like-mafia associations. It is an inter-force composition; members are selected from those of the Italian police forces and from the civil personnel of the internal administration (belonging to the public security).
Structure DIA has its own collocation within the Department of Public Security. It has full administrative-financial and management autonomy and its organization is defined by the Ministry of Interior with proper decrees, after consulting the
Consiglio generale per la lotta alla criminalità organizzata ('General Council for the Contrast Against Organized Crime'). At the top of the structure there is a director, chosen in rotation between general officers of
Guardia di Finanza and
Carabinieri as well as senior directors of
Polizia di Stato who had matured a specific competence in the field of the fight against organized crime. In the exercise of his functions, the director is joined to two deputy director, and to one of them is given also the vicarious function, who have the task of overseeing respectively the operative and administrative activities.) and 9 operative sections (
Trieste,
Salerno,
Lecce,
Catanzaro,
Messina,
Trapani,
Agrigento,
Bologna,
Brescia).
Functions DIA has the tasks of performing investigations of judiciary police related to crimes of mafia-type association and it ensures the progress of preventive investigation activities regarding organized crime. The director of DIA can propose to courts, competent for territory, the imposition of preventive measures both personal (like special surveillance) and patrimonial (seizure of assets) kind. In particular, the DIA, coordinated by Anti-mafia National Prosecutor, and the anti-mafia district directorates use their instruments as well as the Central DNA laboratory of
Polizia Penitenziaria for own investigations. == Statistics ==