Who Watches the Watchers?

It was never a question of whether, but always a question of when.

For the University, hiring a private company to protect their undergraduate Houses made too much sense. With their proprietary--wholly owned--guard force, the Harvard University Police Department (HUPD) couldn't always plug security holes. Union regulations rendered guard schedules inflexible.

A private company, on the other hand, would provide dozens of more guards for a lot less cost. And no union quibbles would get in the way.

The owned and operated guard force protested, but not too much. Many of its members wanted out of their contracts. Last summer, the University and the Harvard guards agreed on a compromise: the proprietary guards would protect the Yard, and the University would buy out the contract of several veterans. The Houses would be out-sourced.

So upper-class students moved in last fall under the eyes of several dozen Security Systems Inc. (SSI) employees. Eight months later, the University is hesitant to call the transformation a total success.

SSI guard turnover has been high--many campus locations don't have the same face watching the doors week-to-week. HUPD dispatchers often have trouble contacting guards on the security radio frequency, and police officers whisper questions about SSI's competence.

More seriously, in April, an SSI guard in DeWolfe was charged with assaulting a student. Another guard was dismissed, according to a University official, for "gross incompetence."

Michael G. Lichten, the director of physical resources for the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, admits that there have been some "difficulties" with SSI. But, he says, "It's a very tough labor market generally and we had to make the change very quickly and [SSI was] able to do it."

While Harvard and Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) administrators call these incidents anomalous, many students--and privately, several administrators--question whether campus security has been enhanced by SSI's presence.

Malden-based SSI refuses to answer questions about the company or its guards. The company, which, like all private security firms, is licensed by the state, has been sending its guards to Massachusetts companies since 1974.

SSI public relations office staff members declined repeated requests for comment, as did several security managers. Pressed, one company official, who would not give her name, said simply that SSI had "no comment at this time." More than a half dozen SSI guards on campus would not speak to a reporter, saying they feared losing their jobs. Two said that their company warned them specifically not to talk to the Crimson.

Harvard officials are not reluctant to point to what they see as specific successes of SSI's tenure. HUPD Chief Francis D. "Bud" Riley labels the charge that guards can't blend into the character of a house a "myth." He points to guards like Cort Ellis in Quincy House. Ellis has greeted students with his gentle smile since the fall, and House administrators say they are impressed by his work.

"Cort is really awesome," agrees Damian Wisniewski '01, a resident of Quincy House.

But some proprietary guards and students can think of counterexamples, usually a story about a guard who doesn't speak English well, or a guard who got lost in the bowels of a House.

The most disturbing, say SSI's detractors: the claim of assault filed against DeWolfe's Errol Allen in April.

In papers filed with the Middlesex County District Attorney's office, Jesse S. Downs '00-'01 claims that Allen allegedly grabbed her arm in the first-floor laundry room. In the police report, both the investigating officers and Downs alleged that Allen had been drinking that night.

Until the incident, Allen had been cited as a model SSI guard--students said they found him friendly and accessible. They said they respected his hard work--he was studying to pass his high school equivalency exam.

But according to Downs, Allen is representative of the larger problem and inadequate security provided by what she calls an "unreliable" company.

"I've often observed behavior such as guards falling asleep, generally not paying attention and hanging out in the DeWolfe laundry room," she says.

Though SSI wouldn't comment on Allen's case, Riley says that the company requires its guards to pass a background check.

"All the precautions that could've been taken have been taken," he says.

Allen will face a criminal trial in Middlesex District Court beginning June 14.

Aside from isolated incidents, administrators say that SSI guards have responded appropriately to unexpected situations, such as a gas line break in Adams House this April. The SSI supervisor on duty gathered guards with knowledge of Adams House and brought them to the building, according to Robert Kotowski, a HUPD sergeant.

"SSI was instrumental in putting that evacuation together," he says.

But, students have reported several incidents where SSI guards failed to respond to students' calls for help.

Two weeks ago, Leverett's SSI guard failed to respond to a object being thrown through a House window, forcing another guard to intervene.

And Lichten and HUPD's Kotowski acknowledge that SSI officials have been made aware of the importance of their guards being proficient with the English language.

"More and more you're finding more people whose first language isn't English and that's just something we have to deal with," Lichten says.

Kotowski says he is personally aware of only one complaint about a guard, and says it has been dealt with to his satisfaction.

"That issue has been raised, but not to the point where it's a hazard," he says.

While the University is somewhat hesitant to assess the overall quality of the SSI guards, they say they are more than pleased with their quantity.

In years past, Harvard proprietary guards had union-mandated schedules which often left Houses unprotected, forcing HUPD to post its officers at some Houses.

"The biggest issue we had with the University guards was we didn't have the manpower," Kotowski says. "The most important thing to us is to have someone at every site."

And SSI's large pool of available guards has helped to ensure that every House is protected during every shift, which frees Harvard police officers for patrol. When more security is needed, like during Head of the Charles weekend, SSI is able provide extra manpower. Administrators also point to the mandatory training, including CPR certification, which SSI guards undergo. While many proprietary guards were former law enforcement officers, several admitted to the Crimson last year that they'd never undergone formal training.

But students question whether Harvard can expect top service from its SSI guards--particularly given their pay, which is, according to University officials, $8 to $9.50 an hour.

"It's bad news for everybody," says the Progressive Student Labor Movement's Benjamin J. McKean '02.

Proprietary guards, by contrast, are paid $11.97--a wage that has held steady for several years and is now frozen by contract until 2003. Harvard guards get health care and retirement benefits, and can take classes at the extension school--all perks denied to the SSI's guards.

"In our minds, it's just horrendous," McKean says. Despite the University's vow to extend health and education benefits to its subcontracted workers, many SSI guards may not receive them, since company turnover rates are high.

Meanwhile, Harvard's proprietary guards are continuing to count down their days. One more round of layoffs is promised in the guards' contract, and in a year, their numbers will likely dwindle to below 20.

University officials say that the security issue will be constantly under review.

"This isn't an issue that's decided one year and goes away," Riley says. "It all depends on who is providing the best option."