Based on research using official documents, this account of the role of the police in the rise to power of Mussolini reveals the inner workings of the Italian Liberal policing system, the tensions between its different branches, and problems related to the shifting demands of its political masters. Explanations of the support that the Italian police gave to the Fascist movement are to be found not only in the profound social, economic and political transformations characterizing the years immediately following World War I, but also in Italy’s post-unification administrative system. Police support for the Fascists was often morally, if not physically, coerced by the Fascists, while administrative ambiguities and weaknesses hampered any police attempts to repress the movement. The rise of Fascism and its support from the police was the logical end result of a tradition of private solutions to policing problems. This study also looks at the relationship between different branches of the police and between central government and periphery state organs in dealing with political developments.