Roxbury residents angry at the Harvard Police Departments policy of dealing with public drinking and drug dealing are praising what they say is a dramatic change of policy.

Residents of Boston's Mission Hill neighborhood said that until recently the Harvard Police were simply moving offenders to another part of the neighborhood and placing them "out of sight."

But Harvard Police Chief Paul E. Johnson denied those charges and said his department has always followed the current policy of turning offenders over to the Boston police.

Residents were outraged when they learned of the old policy, explained by Sgt. Arthur Fitzhugh in a meeting with community members on August 27.

Fitzhugh said police moved the people disturbing residents "out of sight," according to David Welch, director of New England Baptist hospital security, who coordinated the meeting.

Police moved them to a Harvard-owned parkinglot behind a drug-store, angering neighbors whowanted them removed completely from the area.

Neighbors complained that this policysanctioned public drinking and drug use by givingpeople the idea that they could break the law aslong as they did it quietly.

"Offenders thought of the parking lot as a safehaven," said Bruce E. Smith, director of communityrelations for the Harvard School of Public Health.

"They allow things to take place among us [cityresidents], not them," said Oscar Brookings, areporter for the Mission Hill News who was at themeeting. "I have a problem with that."

Brookings wrote an article entitled "Harvard'sHaven" in the September 11 issue of the MissionHill News criticizing the policy. Within the nextfew days, Brookings said, the crackdown began.

"The article was really the thing that changedthe policy," Welch said.

Fitzhugh said police began moving offendersaway from Mission Hill completely on Tuesday,after his superior, Lt. John Anderson, changed thepolicy.

"The lieutenant has said he wants them out," hesaid.

But Police Chief Paul E. Johnson deniedyesterday that the original plan of moving peoplebehind the drugstore was ever official policy.

"Either Fitzhugh misspoke or was misquoted,"Johnson said. "We never had a policy about takingpeople and dumping them in one spot."

And Lt. John Anderson, Fitzhugh's superior atthe Medical School, agreed with Johnson.

"Whatever the chief tells you is the way itis," he said.

But Brookings said Anderson knew about the oldpolicy and was upset at Fitzhugh for "letting thecat out of the bag."

"Anderson spoke to me after the articleappeared," Fitzhugh said yesterday. "He wasupset."

And Welch, the security officer, said Andersoncalled him and told him of the change in policy.

"He said he would step up patrols and broom thedrugs out of there," Welch said.

Smith said neighbors welcomed Fitzhugh's candorand would become "even more hostile" if Fitzhughis punished for telling the truth.

"They are tired of being lied to by thepolice," Smith said. "He told the truth, and eventhough the truth hurts, it had to be told."

Johnson said he plans to speak to Fitzhugh toclear up any confusion about the policy