Mitchell says his plate reader rules would 'strictly regulate' New Bedford's cameras

NEW BEDFORD Updated 7:39 p.m. Nov. 4, 2026.

New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell took his case for new license plate reader rules to Facebook on Wednesday afternoon, saying the ordinance he sent the City Council would let police use the technology while guarding residents' privacy.

"The ordinance I've proposed would strictly regulate the use of license plate readers, ensuring that privacy interests are protected while enabling the police to keep the public safe," Mitchell wrote in a Facebook post Wednesday on his campaign page.

In a video of a little over a minute posted with it, Mitchell said license plate readers have been around for close to 20 years and have helped police find abducted children and dangerous criminals, but that the technology has to be used responsibly. He said the ordinance would require a yearly audit, control who can get into the system, sharply limit the sharing of information and bar the companies that hold the data from selling it to third parties.

Mitchell also said in the video that the city has canceled its contract with Flock Safety, the Police Department's camera vendor. The city's news release Wednesday says the department will not renew the contract when it expires Nov. 12.

What the ordinance would do

According to the mayor's office's release, the ordinance would require a public hearing and City Council approval before the city signs or renews any contract for the technology. Only Police Department staff a supervisor has certified as trained could run searches, every search and data export would be logged, and the logs would be audited.

The city could keep plate reader data no longer than 30 days unless it relates to an open criminal or internal investigation, the release says. Selling the data would be banned, and a vendor could not keep, use, share or analyze it after a contract ends unless the law requires it. Officers would have to see for themselves that the plate, the vehicle, the alert and the circumstances match before taking any enforcement action.

The ordinance would also set rules for sharing data with outside police and criminal justice agencies, cut off access for anyone who no longer needs it, and require the department to adopt procedures for looking into claims of unauthorized access. Monthly audits would feed a full written report to the City Council and a second, public report showing overall findings, confirmed violations and what was done about them.

"License plate readers are a powerful tool to promote public safety, but they must be used responsibly," Mitchell said in the release. "This ordinance would put clear limits on ALPR technology that are designed to prevent misuse, protect legitimate privacy concerns, and enable the police to keep our City safe."

Police Chief Jason Thody said in the same release that the department's experience "has reinforced the importance of having clear expectations and ensuring those expectations are met. It has also shown how effective this technology can be, and its importance in modern law enforcement." He called the ordinance "an important step toward establishing a consistent framework for the future."

What Councilor Burgo says

Councilor at Large Shane Burgo, who was council president in 2025, answered the mayor's proposal with a statement of his own, saying the council has not yet received the ordinance itself.

"At this point, there is very little to comment on because the Mayor has yet to provide the actual proposed Ordinance to the City Council," Burgo said in a statement released Wednesday. "Instead, we have received a press release outlining a handful of bullet points, the same information made available to the general public. While the limited details provided suggest we may be moving in the right direction, I look forward to reviewing the actual legislative language and continuing this discussion through the Ordinance Committee."

Burgo said the council passed its ban to set safeguards, not because it opposes the technology. "Our original legislation sought to establish responsible safeguards around technology this Administration chose to implement without adequate guardrails, resulting in the termination of two police officers and a further erosion of public trust," he said. "We proposed a moratorium not because we oppose public safety technology, but because we believe its use must be governed by clear and responsible regulations that protect both public safety and civil liberties."

He also criticized the mayor's approach, saying his "decision to veto our recently passed Ordinance and attempt to replace it with his own proposal does not change the well-established pattern of this Administration: a lack of collaboration, an unwillingness to compromise, and a resistance to meaningful oversight." Burgo said "the same mentality has contributed to our Police Officers working more than two years without a settled contract."

"I have faith in my colleagues on the City Council to do what is right for the people of New Bedford," Burgo said. "Our responsibility is to hold this Administration accountable, ensure that meaningful safeguards remain in place, and keep the Mayor at the negotiating table until we reach a fair and just compromise. This is not about political gamesmanship. It is about responsible governance and ensuring that no Administration is permitted to operate without accountability."

What happens next

The release does not say when the council will take up the mayor's ordinance. The council's next regular meeting is Thursday, Nov. 12, at 7 p.m., the same day the Flock contract runs out. The Committee on Public Safety and Neighborhoods meets Monday, Nov. 16, at 7 p.m. with two tabled Flock motions on its agenda, and the Committee on Ordinances meets Wednesday, Nov. 18. Council meetings are held in Room 214 at City Hall, 133 William St., and are streamed live.

Residents can reach the City Council Office at 508-979-1455 and the mayor's office at 508-979-1410.

How we got here

The council's ban, passed Oct. 22, says no city department "shall acquire, purchase, lease, license, renew, extend, expand, deploy, operate, or materially modify" a license plate reader or similar location-tracking system. Mitchell said on WBSM's SouthCoast Now on Oct. 28 that the ban "goes too far" and that he would veto it. Related: Mitchell says he will veto New Bedford's license plate reader ban; New Bedford City Council passes ban on license plate reader cameras

City Clerk Dennis W. Farias said Tuesday, Nov. 3, that the ban "was presented to the Mayor on Monday, Oct. 26th, but the City Council Office has not yet received it back." Under state law, a mayor who objects to an ordinance has 10 days after it is presented to return it to the council in writing, or it takes effect. The council can override a veto with a two-thirds vote of all its members. Neither the mayor's release nor his post says whether Mitchell has returned the ban. Burgo's statement refers to the mayor's "decision to veto" it but does not say whether a veto has reached the council.

The Police Department began using Flock's cameras in December 2024, the release says. Thody ordered an audit of how the department used them on July 31 and shut down every Flock camera in the city on Aug. 11. That audit, which looked at searches made in 2026, contributed to the firing of two officers and to the decision not to renew the contract, according to the release. A second review, of searches from Dec. 20, 2024, through Dec. 31, 2025, is still underway, and the city says it will announce the results when it is done.

South Coast 360 asked the mayor's office Wednesday for the ordinance's text and whether Mitchell has returned the ban, and will update this story with the answers.

Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.