Security Committee Considers A United Protection Department

The Security Search Committee, appointed to name a successor to retiring Harvard Chief of Police Robert Tonis, may recommend a comprehensive public safety department that would eliminate individual security departments within the University.

The proposed department would include parking, busing, watchmen, guards, student security patrol and all police department employees, Stephen S.J. Hall, vice president for administration and head of the committee, said Friday.

Hall said that the suggested departmental consolidation would not force job cutbacks.

"We're seeking a different orientation by bringing all security under one roof," Hall said. A man appointed to head the department would "need knowledge of police functioning as well as a history in areas of management and control of human resources."

Hall's guidelines point up what several persons feel is his desire to establish a strong "efficiency" image in the security department. Hall said last week, however, that he does not believe the University would benefit by appointing merely a strict security patrol officer.

'Carry a Big Stick'

"We don't need to maintain a regimented police force. You can walk softly and carry a big stick at the same time," Hall said.

In its first meeting on Thursday, the committee considered the structure and operation of the office in order to compose a job description for the new position.

Since the original announcement of committee members last Thursday, Hall has appointed Laura M. Gordon, senior tutor in Eliot House, and Blenda J. Wilson, associate dean for administration in the Faculty of Education, to the eight-member security committee.

Hall said Friday that the committee will welcome public suggestions addressed to him at University Hall. He said the committee hopes to name a successor by the end of the school year.

Ultimate approval will rest with President Bok and the Corporation.