A student newspaper at Harvard has filed a lawsuit against the Ivy League institution that, if successful, would require university police departments to publicly release more information about incidents of crime on campus.
The Harvard Crimson, Harvard's daily student newspaper, filed a suit this summer against the Harvard University Police Department (HUPD) demanding the department comply with the same public records laws as other police departments. The paper is represented in the suit by the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts.
Many university police departments, including the Tufts University Police Department (TUPD), release only brief descriptions of campus incidents. In contrast regular police forces must make available detailed reports.
Since HUPD employs special state police officers, Crimson President Amit Paley maintains it is subject to public records laws.
But, as Paley explained, Harvard contends that it is not subject to public records laws since it is a private institution employing a police department. "The University contends that since it is a private institution employing a police department, HUPD is a private police force and not subjected to public records law," he said.
The difference between the brief police logs and detailed crime reports is length and breadth. The Crimson wants more details, such as access to confessions, racial profiles of suspects and victims, and the specifics of the incident.
In a Crimson article, Harvard spokesman Alan Stone countered that releasing records with personal information would violate students' right to privacy. Even if HUPD did not release the names of students involved in campus incidents, revealing specific locations and physical descriptions could be enough to identify the parties involved.
But because Harvard is a private institution operating a police force, HUPD officers may not qualify as agents of the state, according to the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators (IACLEA).
"I don't know of any federal laws requiring a private police department to release their records," IACLEA President Dolores Stafford told the Crimson. "They are still considered private agencies, even if they receive their police authority through the state."
But the IACLEA's official position on campus law enforcement recommends there be no distinction between public and private law enforcement practices. One of the association's official position statements says "whether law enforcement is a proprietary function of the campus or the public services offered through the state/province or municipality, citizen access to the criminal justice system is to be ensured."
Paley contends that HUPD should be subject to the same records laws as a regular police force. "The HUPD consists of real police officers, not a bunch of security guards standing around," he said. "They also serve the Commonwealth and respond to incidents outside of Harvard."
The Crimson's requests for information are not the only ones HUPD has received, but the newspaper is the first to take the issue to court. Community residents have reportedly complained about HUPD's refusal to release incident reports.
Mark Goodman, the executive director of the Washington DC-based Student Press Law Center and an expert in media law, believes the Crimson has a strong claim.
"This is an important case," he said in a telephone interview. "It's hard to argue when a police department exercises lawful authority, they shouldn't be obligated to public records law."
Goodman referred to a similar case in the '90s at the University of Richmond, where the student newspaper sued for access to criminal reports. Though the Virginia court ruled against the newspaper, the court amended the law one year later, subjecting the university's police force to public records laws.
"Massachusetts law is significantly different," Goodman explained. "And the Crimson's case is stronger than that of Richmond's."
In Massachusetts, the Clery Act requires all private colleges to maintain and make available weekly police logs.
But the Crimson wants more information.
"There is a clear connection between information and public safety," said Paley, who believes the release of more detailed crime reports will improve campus safety. The threat of notoriety could also deter potential criminals, he said.
John King, Tufts' director of public and environmental safety, said Tufts' stance is similar to Harvard's. Tufts only releases the details of a crime after receiving a written request explaining the need. "[From] time to time, we'll make incident reports available for things like stolen laptops, because the insurance companies need police incident reports from the students," he said.
By state law, TUPD officers have authority throughout the entire Commonwealth. But TUPD officers usually only respond to off-campus calls when an incident involves Tufts students, such as loud parties.
The department has not received any complaints about its records policy from Tufts, Medford, or Somerville.
"If anyone has questions regarding an incident at Tufts, they can contact us and we can talk about it with them, if we can't release the incident on paper," King said. "We won't release sexual assault cases, but our philosophy is not to keep this information from people -- but we want to protect the privacy of individuals."
In addition, Tufts' police log is printed in issues of The Tufts Observer, which tries to anonymously cover any incident. Often, the magazine reports on loud parties, alcohol confiscation, and illegal drug usage incidents.
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