Less than a year after coming to Harvard, University Police (HUPD) Chief Francis D. "Bud" Riley has already made his mark on a department that for years had been riddled with scandal and internal strife.

Riley's rebuilding of the HUPD in his image began last spring with a series of smaller moves aimed at bringing the concept of community policing to campus.

Since then, Riley has developed a plan that will radically restructure the way the HUPD patrols campus and will improve police-student relations.

As part of that plan, which is scheduled to begin next month, Riley says he will launch an unprecedented alliance between police and security guards to improve their joint policing efforts.

Riley has also undertaken a reformation of the department's internal administrative structure.

Under Riley's predecessor, Paul E. Johnson, the department was faced with bitter internal bickering, including a drawn-out battle with HUPD officers over their contract and constant in-fighting among the department's brass.

But in his first nine months, Riley has re-assigned two high-ranking officers and promoted others in a shake-up of the HUPD's old hierarchy.

He has also responded to charges of racism leveled against officers during Johnson's tenure by establishing training seminars and creating a new police advisory board that will include students who represent minority groups.

Riley says he has based his restructuring program on the principle that getting police out on the street and having them interact with students is the most foolproof way to reduce crime.

If students can feel comfortable interacting with police, then his officers' work will be that much easier, according to Riley.

Cops on Patrol

Riley's most comprehensive initiative since moving into his post last year will redistribute police resources in order to improve officers' communication with other members of their department.

Presently, the HUPD patrol network, as during Johnson's tenure, has divided the campus into roughly five large sections that are each patrolled by one HUPD cruiser.

But Riley says cruiser patrols are ineffective.

"In an urban setup like we have here [in Cambridge], it puts people in a metal and glass tank, making them virtually unapproachable," Riley says.

Riley says few students feel comfortable walking up to a police cruiser to chat with officers or to report security problems.