Gorski Takes Office as Police Chief

Newly-appointed Harvard Police Chief David L. Gorski said in an interview yesterday that improved relations between the Harvard police department and the Harvard community will be the key to improving police service.

"There's very little any police department can do without the cooperation of the community," he said.

Gorski, who is 34 years old, assumed his duties January 2. A select committee chaired by Stephen S. J. Hall, vice president for administration, chose him for the post in November.

"I've always been big on community policing," Gorski said. "People get the police service they themselves want and provide."

"It's critical for someone like myself to get as much input as possible from students and faculty, especially now when I really don't know the institution that well," he added.

Gorski said the Student Security Patrol is a good example of successful cooperation. "The role of Student Security Committee has grown enormously because the demand is there. It's a very effective supplement to formal police work rendered economically."

The Student Security Patrol is a group of student guards who have been patroling the Houses at night since the fall.

No Problems

Gorski worked on the Minneapolis police force before becoming public-safety director of Golden Valley, Minn., a small, upper-middle class suburb of Minneapolis. He said he expects no problems in adjusting, however.

"I'm not sure there's anything that's new. There are certain principles of police work regardless of where you are. The primary concern is the same crime and its effect on the community."

Gorski said he may make changes in Harvard's police department, but that he is still not sure what they will be. "The job the university wants done is a bit more sophisticated than the organization is set up to accomplish now," Gorski said.

"One problem is that we're lacking data with regard to basic management," Gorski continued, citing the volume of calls for service, where the calls come from, and time spent on patrol versus time occupied on service as problems requiring attention.

"We have to ask ourselves if walking beats is the most efficient way, and to do that, we have to know what's going on, where the trouble spots are," Gorski said.

Women on the Force

Gorski said he was pleased with the representation of minorities and women on the force. "There's a definite role for women in police services, and with time I expect their role on the force to increase. They're welcome additions and they do brighten up the force," Gorski added.

However, Gorski said that good police service is expensive. "If there were one policeman per person or building it would be easy, but that's just not economically possible," he said.

Gorski will work a joint shift with outgoing police chief Robert Tonis until June, when Tonis retires