Walking along the Charles, in the shadow of Harvard's bell towers, it is easy to be overcome by the serenity of the river.
But when a student is mugged, assaulted or raped, the peaceful vision of campus life is shattered and the startling reality sets in.
Cambridge police report 34 violent attacks in the city--which they classify as "Assault and Battery"--in the last eight months, with the majority having occurred on or near the Harvard campus.
Last year, thieves robbed suites in as varied places as Matthews Hall and Eliot House--in one instance stealing valuables from a room even as the victims slept.
Other students have been mugged near Mather House, and one girl reported that she was sexually assaulted on Linden St., near Adams House.
In petty theft, too, Cambridge was named in recent years the bike theft capital of the United States.
Harvard University Police (HUPD) Chief Francis D. "Bud" Riley, still in his first year at the helm, has tried to make community policing the buzz word in his department in hopes of increasing the level of protection around campus.
And, by all accounts, Riley's new initiatives are working.
Students have called the HUPD to praise the effectiveness of bike patrols instituted this summer and lauded Riley's commitment to integrating police into the Harvard community.
"It goes back to the old tradition of the beat cops, where everyone in the community knew the officers' names and what they were there to do," says Riley, adding that a record number of students have registered their bikes with the HUPD this year.
And by the end of the month Riley will appoint both a captain of crime prevention and officers to oversee all sectors, or beats, on campus.
These reforms are part of Riley's overall plan to revamp the image of the HUPD, which under his predecessor, Paul E. Johnson was plagued with accusations that officers were racist and insensitive to student concerns.
Riley has set as his goal the "integration of the campus community into the fabric of the safety system."
Policing the Cops
To ensure a productive dialogue between students and HUPD officers, a student-police advisory board will be formed for the first time ever this year.
Read more in News
HASTE Hosts Discussion on Safety AwarenessRecommended Articles
-
HUPD Dept. Focuses on InvestigationsThe new-look Harvard University Policy Department (HUPD) has been re-cast in recent months as the student-friendly arm of the University.
-
New, Outsourced Security Guards Criticized by Some HUPD OfficersWalking into the foyer of Claverly Hall one recent evening, students were startled to find the Security Systems Incorporated (SSI)
-
Winning Friends: Bud Riley Woos Student Protesters, AdministratorsIn 1969, a little more than thirty years ago, police officers beat and clubbed student protesters occupying University Hall to
-
A Kinder, Gentler Police ForceThe Harvard University Police Department has come a long way since the days when 400 police officers--most from surrounding areas--ejected
-
Budding RespectUnlike his predecessor Paul E. "no waves" Johnson, Harvard University Police Chief Francis D. "Bud" Riley has stirred up the
-
Punches? What Punches?Final club initiations, like falling leaves or Undergraduate Council election fliers, are one of the harbingers of winter at Harvard.
