Law Enforcement Requests for Access to Documents and Nonpublic Spaces

From time to time, federal, state, and local law enforcement officers make contact with University offices and staff, seeking documents, access to campus or other information to assist with their investigations. The following guidelines address non-routine law enforcement requests for documents, as well as requests for access to nonpublic spaces. They are drawn from OGC’s longstanding Advisory Regarding Federal, State, and Local Law Enforcement Inquiries, which addresses responses to a range of law enforcement requests in detail and is available here.

1. If any person identifying as a law enforcement officer or agent approaches you and asks to access nonpublic information, you should direct them to the Office of the General Counsel (OGC) at Smith Center, Suite 980.

2. If an officer or agent approaches you and asks to access nonpublic space on the Harvard campus, you should call HUPD at 617-495-1215 and ask the officer to wait with you until HUPD arrives on the scene.

3. If the officer presents you with a search warrant, you should call both HUPD (at 617-495-1215) and OGC (at 617-495-1280) immediately and wait for an HUPD officer to arrive on the scene.

4. If the officer expresses an urgent need to move quickly, you should not attempt to stop the law enforcement officer, but call HUPD immediately (at 617-495-1215).

If any of the above occur after regular business hours, call HUPD (at 617-495-1215), and HUPD will make contact with an OGC attorney.