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HUPD Operational Philosophy

The mission of the Harvard University Police Department is to maintain a safe and secure campus by providing quality policing in partnership with the community. Together, the Department and the community can maintain a safe and secure environment, free from the distraction of criminal activity and disorder, for the pursuit of education and scholarship that brings people to Harvard University. To fulfill its mission, the Department has adopted a community-oriented problem-solving (COPS) philosophy. The core components of the philosophy are prevention, partnerships, and problem solving. Officers are committed to preventing crime and disorder and focus their efforts on eliminating the underlying causes of those problems. To do this officers actively engage in partnerships with the community to address and solve problems. Partnerships are the foundation of effective problem solving and crime prevention. Through these partnerships and collaborative problem solving, officers deal with problems, prevent crime, and help maintain a community free of disorder. To help build, maintain, and strengthen these partnerships within the University community, the Department is divided into six teams: Yard, North Yard, Radcliffe, Allston, River, and Longwood. Because they have small geographic areas of responsibility, officers have the ability to build relationships with the community and become familiar with problems specific to their area through increased communication and interactions.

Our commitment to quality policing is demonstrated by adhering to the following principles:

• The HUPD seeks the consent and partnership of the people and community it serves. The Department’s value and identity are established one citizen contact at a time. Students, faculty, and staff deserve a sense of justice and fairness when dealing with the HUPD. “Police at all times should maintain a relationship that gives reality to the historic tradition that the police are the public and the public are the police; the police being the only members of the public who are paid to give full-time attention to duties which are incumbent on every citizen in the interests of community welfare and existence.” (Sir Robert Peel, 1829)
• The HUPD determines policing priorities in partnership with the community. Because safety and security is a shared responsibility, the HUPD encourages students, faculty, and staff to take an active role in maintaining their own safety and the security of others.
• Community outreach is an integral component and guiding principle of the Department’s commitment to community-oriented problem solving by providing students, faculty, and staff direction and steps they can take to maintain their own safety and the security of others.
• The HUPD seeks to prevent crime rather than merely responding to it after it occurs. As Sir Robert Peel stated, the basic mission for which the police exist is to prevent crime and disorder. He also observed that the test of police efficiency is the absence of crime and disorder, not the visible evidence of police action in dealing with it.

Research has shown that when officers exit their vehicles and patrol on foot or engage in informal conversations with the community, community members feel safer and satisfaction with the police increases. In addition, community members are far more likely to share information on criminal activity or other problems with a familiar figure than with a stranger. Therefore, officers are encouraged to form relationships with the community above and beyond answering calls for service. These conversations present an opportunity for officers to solicit information about ongoing problems and concerns, thereby facilitating officers’ problem-solving efforts.

HUPD Responsibilities to the Community

• To protect life and safeguard property
• To create a safe and secure environment for the entire Harvard University community
• To prevent crime, control criminal behavior, maintain order, and reduce fear of crime
• To accomplish all police objectives legally and constitutionally, guided by HUPD values and mindful at all times of the rights of individuals and the interests of the community
• To create partnerships with Harvard and community groups, service agencies, institutions, and other criminal justice agencies
• To identify and solve problems
• To listen to community concerns
• To establish and support crime prevention programs
• To respond to calls for service
• To investigate crimes
• To apprehend those who commit crimes
• To help to convict persons charged with crimes