Bologna's problems of public and private security would not end, or even abate, with unity. On the contrary, the Piedmontese police system would soon be put to the test by a series of well-planned and carefully executed robberies within the city, and investigating police officials would subsequently be assassinated for their attempts to solve the crimes. For the first couple of years, many Bolognesi came to wonder if their adherence to the new Italian state had won them any safety in the streets. Eventually, however, administrators sent from Piedmont would win over public opinion and convince provincial elites that Bologna's days as a capital of crime and brigandage had truly ended. In so doing, they would reveal not only the new nation's determination to deal with the problem, but also some interesting advantages brought to policing by the new “liberal” political system. Unfortunately, they would also employ many repressive techniques aimed specifically at the lower classes that were reminiscent of the papal police. In consequence, the moderates' hopes of social regeneration from Italy's political transformation would be eclipsed by a continuing emphasis on control of the dangerous classes as defined essentially by property and profession.

The city seems to have remained relatively calm during most of the transitional period, but a particularly audacious daylight bank robbery in November of 1859 reminded Bologna that the old problem of public security had not somehow magically disappeared.