It is a full-service police department responsible for the safety and security of Harvard students, faculty, staff, and visitors at the university’s Cambridge and Boston campuses.

[3] The chief performs his duties under the direction of the university’s general counsel,[4] Diane Lopez.

[8] This gives them full powers of arrest in and upon all property owned or controlled by Harvard University.

[8] HUPD has been the target of requests for greater transparency in the records it keeps or publishes about its officers’ actions.

[10][11] In 2003, The Harvard Crimson, the undergraduate student newspaper, filed suit against HUPD in Massachusetts Superior Court.