They have no motto to match the dignity of "New York's finest," or the Los Angeles police's promise "to protect and to serve." But since the 1940s, the Harvard University Police Department (HUPD) has sought to combine the duties of law-enforcement with the protection of a college community's interests.

The two aims can sometimes seem incompatible--such as when University policies of confidentiality clash with the public access usually granted to law-enforcement actions, or when Harvard's in loco parentis role comes into conflict with common police practices.

And it is confusion between the two that most often prompts criticism of the force. Whether blamed for not protecting students in confrontations with Cambridge police, or condemned for forcing homeless persons off warm ventilation grates, the police play a role most students greet with ambivalence--or worse.

'This Isn't a Monastery'

At Harvard, a fine line sets the campus police force apart from a department serving an ordinary town. Larger than many municipal police departments in the state, University police must respond to break-ins, robberies and domestic disputes. But officers also function as monitors of student behavior.

At a recent undergraduate party, for example, police responded to a neighbor's complaint only to find a reasonably quiet gathering. "Tell [the caller] this isn't a monastery," an officer said. Another officer added later that he "hates" breaking up parties.

And Officer Robert Kotowski says that he feels his responsibility extends beyond protecting Harvard students and property.

"I'm a sworn officer of the Commonwealth," Kotowski says. As with all officers in the state, Kotowski says, he is bound by oath to investigate any crime he comes across, whether it is on Harvard territory or not.

Harshest Critics

Still, some of the most intense criticism leveled at the department has come from students on issues ranging from campus security to racism to homelessness.

But officers say that undergraduates assign Harvard police a reputation based mostly on anecdotes and word-of-mouth accounts. A random arrest, breaking up a party, driving a sick roommate to University Health Services or taking a report of a stolen bicycle amount only to a spotty description of the actual role police play, they say.

In fact, officers say interacting with students occupies a small portion of their duties. As the sworn police force for Cambridge's largest landlord--with jurisdiction ranging from the Radcliffe Quad to the Medical School's Boston campus--the Harvard force is expected to maintain the peace on all University property.

Response to criticism of the department varies greatly, individual officers say. One officer, for example, admits that one unpopular policy of the department--clearing homeless persons from ventilation grates at Holyoke Center and across campus--would not be preferred by all officers if they had a choice.

"The businesses are the ones who are always calling us to move [the homeless] out," said the officer, who did not give his name. "What are they doing to help?" he asked.

For a glimpse of the view from behind the badge, The Crimson accompanied officers on a recent Saturday night. At times mundane, at times threatening, the duty of Harvard's police officers defies easy categorization.