(U-WIRE) PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The Crimson, Harvard University's daily independent student newspaper, is suing the school for access to the campus police department's detailed crime reports.

The Crimson, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, filed suit in July, said Harvard senior and Crimson President Amit Paley. In August, Harvard asked a judge to dismiss the case. According to Amber Anderson, one of The Crimson's attorneys, a hearing on this motion will probably take place next month.

Paley said The Crimson's decision to sue was "the culmination of a series of requests to the university in the past few years to gain access to public records."

The lack of open police reports prevented The Crimson from investigating the Harvard University Police Department's racial profiling policies and adequately covering the embezzlement of over $100,000 from a student agency by two Harvard students, Paley said.

Like other college and university police forces, HUPD is required by law to make public a brief report of any major crime that takes place on campus. Specifics such as the names of victims and suspects and the details of ongoing investigations may be withheld.

In their first legal brief on behalf of The Crimson, attorneys Anderson and Sarah Wunsch argued that because HUPD is armed and has the power to detain, question, arrest and investigate members outside of the Harvard community, they should be subject to the same public records laws as any municipal police force.

"These aren't security guards, these are real police officers," Paley said. "They don't have power just from Harvard University. ... They have county and state powers entrusted to them from the colonel of the state police."

But according to a Crimson press release, Harvard's brief argues that because the university is a private institution, its police force is not subject to stringent public access laws. The press release said Harvard argued that it has the responsibility of protecting victims within the small university community.

Joe Wrinn, director of the Harvard Office of News and Public Affairs, said Harvard would not comment on any ongoing lawsuit.

Paley said The Crimson is not looking to exploit victims or receive special treatment.

"The Crimson follows the same normal standards of journalism ethics as most papers. ... There are laws in Massachusetts that protect victims' rights."

The Crimson approached the ACLU because it believed it would be "a good partnership," Paley said. "For the ACLU, it's important that this is a liberties issue. These police officers are not just policing Harvard students. ... They frequently do arrest people throughout Cambridge who are not Harvard students."

Anderson, an attorney with the firm Dechert LLP, was approached by the ACLU and agreed to tackle The Crimson's case pro bono.

"Both the ACLU and I felt that the Harvard University Police Department has a tremendous amount of power and without the records being publicly available, there's some sort of missing check on that power," Anderson said.

"The Crimson is taking an important stand in this case that will be applicable to other colleges and universities," she said. Anderson added that she knew the issue of public access to police reports had been broached at both Boston University and Boston College.

Anderson said the fact that Harvard police officers carry guns makes The Crimson's case even more compelling. "This brings with it a type of coercive power that's unique to carrying firearms," she said.

The Crimson is also receiving support from Security on Campus, a non-profit organization dedicated to raising awareness about on-campus crimes throughout the United States.

"They support us in what we're doing and they've taken a great interest in the result we're trying to achieve," Anderson said, adding, "I'm very optimistic about the outcome."

—Dana Goldstein