University Committee To Review HUPD Privacy Policies

Against the backdrop of a lawsuit filed by The Crimson that calls for increased access to police crime records, the University is organizing a committee of students, administrators and an outside expert to evaluate the privacy policies of the Harvard University Police Department (HUPD).

Vice President and General Counsel Robert W. Iuliano ’83 will head the committee, which he said is not intended to mediate any legal matters between The Crimson and the University.

“It’s a committee that is going to evaluate whether [current HUPD] policies have struck the proper balance between maintaining confidentiality of private records and making sure the community has access to information,” Iuliano said.

Iuliano said he invited representatives from HUPD, the College administration, the News Office, University Health Services, the Undergraduate Council and The Crimson to serve on the committee, along with a professional journalist.

President Rohit Chopra ’04 named Scott F. Goldman ’04-’05 to serve as the Undergraduate Council’s representative.

Crimson President Amit R. Paley ’04 said yesterday that he will serve on the committee, but that he does not expect the discussions to affect the lawsuit’s court proceedings.

“The Harvard Crimson is pleased to serve on the committee to decide as a matter of policy how the University should release these crime records,” Paley said. “Our agreement to sit on the committee will in no way change our legal position that Mass. law requires the University to release these crime records.”

After requesting detailed crime reports from HUPD for a number of years, The Crimson filed a lawsuit against the University this July, asserting the department should be required by public records law to release such reports.

The Crimson has argued that because HUPD officers are special state police officers deputized in Middlesex and Suffolk counties, they should be subject to the records law, which stipulates that records produced by public agents be available upon request.

Paley expressed concern yesterday that members of the committee might view student privacy and access to information as “mutually exclusive.”

HUPD has in the past expressed concern that releasing detailed information on sensitive incidents, such as those involving sexual assault and attempted suicide, would violate students’ privacy.

Iuliano said he hopes committee discussions will begin in the next few weeks but was unsure how much time it would take to examine the issues.

The idea for the committee—conceived by Iuliano and other University officials—developed from concerns brought forth in talks with The Crimson, Iuliano said.

Paley said that though the committee may not affect the lawsuit, he hoped it will be a place to advocate its underlying principle of accessible information.

Iuliano cited the effectiveness of other University committees—such as the Katz Committee, which recommended a series of improvements to Harvard’s labor and contracting policies in late 2001—in explaining the motivation behind the new committee.

“This is a far more productive means of dealing with these sorts of concerns than other alternatives, including litigation,” Iuliano said.

—Staff writer Hana R. Alberts can be reached at alberts@fas.harvard.edu.

—Staff writer Jenifer L. Steinhardt can be reached at steinhar@fas.harvard.edu.