HUPD, though, is not a municipal police department. Officially, the University claims that its police department is a small part of Harvard, a large private institution.
The University funds, equips and directs the activities of the department. Its chief is directly accountable to Harvard's General Counsel, who, in turn, must answer to Harvard's President.
HUPD's status is virtually unique within the law enforcement community.
Interviews with dozens of Harvard administrators and state and local officials reveal a private institution invested with a great deal of public authority, which it wields without several of the safeguards that public police forces must observe.
HUPD's power to act as a law enforcement agency is derived from three sources.
The first can be found in the annals of Massachusetts state law, under a section that provides for the deputization of campus police officers as "special" state police officers.
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