Panel urges Harvard to appoint public-safety ombudsman

From The Boston Globe: An independent committee is recommending that Harvard University create a public-safety ombudsman and take other steps to mend the at-times rocky relationship between the campus police force and the community. The committee asserted in an 81-page report that more work needs to be done to create a welcoming, safe, and open environment on the campus in Cambridge, Mass. Harvard formed the committee last year after some black students and faculty complained of unfair treatment by the predominantly white police force.

From August 2008: Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., will launch an examination of its campus Police Department following long-running complaints that officers have unfairly treated black students and professors. President Drew Gilpin Faust has appointed an independent, six-member committee to review the diversity training, community outreach, and recruitment efforts of Harvard police.