HUPD Revamps Police Blotter Due to Omissions

Responding to recent criticisms of incomplete and missing incident reports from its public logs, the Harvard University Police Department (HUPD) announced changes to its log system designed to ensure that future incidents are properly reported.

Harvard Police Chief Francis H. "Bud" Riley demonstrated these changes yesterday in a rare tour of HUPD headquarters for The Crimson.

Riley said he investigated HUPD's system for public reporting after The Crimson reported omissions from the logs last week.

"It never was an issue until now," he said.

The HUPD logs did not report the Jan. 31 arrest of Joshua M. Elster '00 on three counts of rape and two counts of assault and battery. Under state open records laws, HUPD is required to report all police responses and arrests in a public log.

In addition, the HUPD log published on the department's Web site failed to report the arrest of Sung Hoon Cho, 25, a Summer School student, on charges that he raped a female Summer School student last Aug. 1.

Both the Web log and the printed log kept at HUPD headquarters are titled, "Harvard University Police: Press Log." The Aug. 1 incident was listed in the printed log, which HUPD says is its official log.

Riley said state law does not require that HUPD publish the log on its Web site, although the department tries to make the Web log as accurate as possible.

He added that HUPD will soon post a disclaimer on its Web page, explaining that the Web log might not be complete.

Prior to January's log omissions, HUPD dispatchers marked calls about sensitive incidents as confidential. According to Riley, the dispatchers did not know that this confidential tag kept all information about the incident from appearing in the public log.

HUPD supervisors, who regulary review the logs,would usually catch such errors, Riley said.

Under the new changes, dispatchers can nolonger tag reported calls to be withheld,regardless of the alleged crime's nature. Instead,a supervisor on duty reviews the details of eachindividual call and protects confidentialinformation where necessary.

Riley has also created a new position forsupervision of HUPD's logs, filled by LieutenantLawrence J. Murphy.

According to Riley, HUPD's computer systemallows for reports of all incidents needing policeattention--as required by law--but HUPD had notmastered the system's intricacies.

But the current system is not ideal, Rileysaid, because it requires multiple levels of humanreview.

If a mistake is made in reporting information,corrections to the log can take between two daysand two weeks, according to HUPD spokespersonPeggy A. McNamara.

"We're also working to correct that qualitycorrection timeline," Riley said.

This fall, HUPD will install a new computersystem that will allow dispatchers to withholdcertain confidential information while stilllisting the incident in the public logs. This isnot currently possible.

Riley said he hopes the new system will enableappropriate information to pass directly from thedispatcher to HUPD's official log and its Web log.

Riley stressed that the University and HUPDhave never tried to conceal campus crime.

"I need to put to bed the idea that there's aninstitutional pressure to not report [crimes]because it's simply not true," he said.

"In the two years I've been here, I've neveronce been pressured [by the University] or haveever been spoken to about not reporting crimes."

Riley said he has tried to implement a basiccultural change within his department, encouraginga greater emphasis on service to the community.

Riley also tried to correct previous datamanagement problems by appointing Sergeant John J.Miller as HUPD records officer.

"Quality of data has been an issue since dayone," Riley said

HUPD supervisors, who regulary review the logs,would usually catch such errors, Riley said.

Under the new changes, dispatchers can nolonger tag reported calls to be withheld,regardless of the alleged crime's nature. Instead,a supervisor on duty reviews the details of eachindividual call and protects confidentialinformation where necessary.

Riley has also created a new position forsupervision of HUPD's logs, filled by LieutenantLawrence J. Murphy.

According to Riley, HUPD's computer systemallows for reports of all incidents needing policeattention--as required by law--but HUPD had notmastered the system's intricacies.

But the current system is not ideal, Rileysaid, because it requires multiple levels of humanreview.

If a mistake is made in reporting information,corrections to the log can take between two daysand two weeks, according to HUPD spokespersonPeggy A. McNamara.

"We're also working to correct that qualitycorrection timeline," Riley said.

This fall, HUPD will install a new computersystem that will allow dispatchers to withholdcertain confidential information while stilllisting the incident in the public logs. This isnot currently possible.

Riley said he hopes the new system will enableappropriate information to pass directly from thedispatcher to HUPD's official log and its Web log.

Riley stressed that the University and HUPDhave never tried to conceal campus crime.

"I need to put to bed the idea that there's aninstitutional pressure to not report [crimes]because it's simply not true," he said.

"In the two years I've been here, I've neveronce been pressured [by the University] or haveever been spoken to about not reporting crimes."

Riley said he has tried to implement a basiccultural change within his department, encouraginga greater emphasis on service to the community.

Riley also tried to correct previous datamanagement problems by appointing Sergeant John J.Miller as HUPD records officer.

"Quality of data has been an issue since dayone," Riley said