The most controversial portion of Riley's plan may be his decision to integrate Harvard's security guards into the community policing plan.
The plan is the first attempt to increase cooperation between security guards and police, who have been at odds in the past.
Security guard-police relations have always been tenuous because the role of HUPD officers and security guards in policing has always been unclear.
While the plan is still in the works, according to Riley, he says that guards will be full team members in the near future.
Riley's plan, however, may meet opposition from the security guards' union.
Currently, the security guards are in the process of filing a petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to break off from Local 254 and form their own union.
Riley says he must wait to announce the details on the security guards' place in his plan until the NLRB assigns a new representative for the guards.
"Integration cannot take place until labor negotiations and other administrative matters have been taken care of," Riley says.
After looking at the generally more friendly and comfortable relationship between students and the Harvard security guards, Riley says he was impressed with rapport between guards and students.
Riley says he saw that the security guards have a definite place in campus life--students constantly see them patrolling the campus or eating in the dining halls.
While Superintendent for Security Services Calvin J. Kantor reports to Riley, the chief says there has been limited interaction between the two departments on a regular basis.
Riley says the guards are in the ideal position to act as a community liaison between the Harvard community and the HUPD.
With the help of the guards, the chief says he wants to establish more community-based activities for the HUPD.
"It seemed to me that we already had that function in place with the guards," Riley says. "It was just a matter of training the guards to act as liaisons.
Increasing Visibility
Read more in News
The Tom Waits Cross-Country Marathon InterviewRecommended Articles
-
Security Guards Stuck In LimboThe body of John H. Skochlas was found in his Prescott Street home by Cambridge Police officers around 9:30 p.m.
-
Safer Streets?Crime on Harvard's grounds dropped more than 21 percent in 1998, according to statistics released by the Harvard University Police
-
Giving Back to the CommunityAt a corner table in the House of Blues last month, University General Counsel Anne Taylor and Harvard Police Chief
-
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