Harvard Police Face Staffing Shortage as Union Negotiations Drag On

The union representing Harvard’s police officers has been without a contract for nearly a year amid negotiations over pay increases. Now, officers say the department is understaffed and struggling to bring in new hires.

The Harvard University Police Association represents the force’s patrol officers — 41 of the department’s 58 sworn officers. After their contract expired last September, HUPA returned to the bargaining table with demands: a slight wage increase, higher pay for police details, and a change to the department’s overtime pay calculation.

Yet, members of the HUPA’s bargaining unit have described the University’s negotiations as proceeding at a “glacial” pace in interviews with The Crimson.

The union has entered into at least 10 contract negotiation sessions with the University since last November — but they said Harvard’s proposals consistently fall short.

“The majority of our meetings, probably at least seven out of 10, didn’t even last 15 minutes because the counteroffers were so insulting,” HUPA President Joseph E. Steverman said.

HUPA has been without a contract for the nine months since Chief Anthony Campbell stepped in to lead the department, adding friction and lowering morale as he attempts to reform and steer the department.

Union leadership said that, without higher wages, the Harvard University Police Department has struggled to recruit new officers. William D. Connell, a HUPA member who sits on the HUPD’s hiring committee, said the department has seen an array of staffing issues.

In an interview, Connell detailed the department’s struggle with low numbers of applicants, prospective hires who turn down job offers for other positions, and a number of current officers who have left for higher-paying jobs — including posts in the Boston or Cambridge Police Departments.

“The recruiting part of it is difficult when prospective candidates have options — better options — at a department that makes more money, has a better detail rate, has better educational allowance,” Connell said.

Connell said the department has lost 26 officers in the last five years — attrition largely seen under the leadership of former chief Victor A. Clay, who led the department from July 2021 until he resigned last May after the HUPA took a near-unanimous vote of no confidence in his leadership.

And in his wake, the department saw an onslaught of legal threats, toxic workplace allegations, and labor disputes.

The staffing shortage has strained the remaining force, with three to four officers on patrol at a time across Harvard’s campus — spanning Somerville, Boston, and Cambridge. Under Clay’s predecessor, Francis D. “Bud” Riley, there were typically six or seven officers stationed on patrol, according to Steverman.

Connell and Steverman described the staffing shortages gravely, saying the department would be “woefully unprepared” if a large-scale threat occurred — referencing safety concerns sparked by the December shooting in a Brown University lecture hall, which killed two students.

Steverman added that working in a short-staffed department has prevented officers from attending certain trainings for several years. HUPD officers had previously trained for active shooting situations with the Cambridge Police Department yearly, but have not been able to in at least five years because of the staffing shortage.

HUPA said Campbell had expressed a desire to increase the number of active patrol officers during shifts to at least six per patrol, and that he hopes a contract is ratified soon. Campbell did not respond to repeated requests for an interview on the negotiations and staffing shortages.

University spokesperson Jason A. Newton wrote in a statement that the University values the department’s work and hopes to reach a contract agreement with HUPA soon.

“Harvard deeply appreciates the role of the HUPD within the larger campus community and is grateful for every member of the department, their efforts in providing a safe learning environment that allows Harvard to carry out its mission, and the many sacrifices that are inherent to the job of police work,” Newton wrote.

The University has also begun hiring for police academy trainees — for the first time in nearly 18 years. Applicants will go through a six-month training process to earn certifications to become a sworn officer, a contrast to previous job postings, which required applicants to have gone through a training program and hold credentials.

The first posting for the academy was released Tuesday, and the department hopes to recruit four new officers through the initiative, according to Steverman.

—Staff writer Shawn A. Boehmer can be reached at [email protected] and on Signal at shawnb.18. Follow him on X @ShawnBoehmer.

—Staff writer Claire A. Michal can be reached at [email protected] and on Signal at ClaireMichal.154.