Suspend Flock in New Bedford & Demand Transparency.

Petition to Mayor Jon Mitchell, the New Bedford City Council, and Police Chief Thody: Suspend Flock. We Demand Transparency.

The people of New Bedford deserve a government that is transparent, accountable, and open with the residents it serves. That standard was not met with the deployment of Flock Safety surveillance cameras.

Whether someone supports or opposes this technology, everyone should be concerned about how it came to be deployed. A surveillance system capable of tracking people throughout our city should never be approved without meaningful public discussion, full transparency, and careful oversight by elected officials.

Instead, many residents only learned that Flock cameras had been installed after the decision had already been made. That should concern everyone. Residents should never have to discover that a citywide surveillance system exists only after it has already been implemented.

For these reasons, we are calling on New Bedford officials to suspend the use of the Flock system and halt any expansion until a transparent public process has taken place.

We Call on New Bedford Officials to:

  • Immediately suspend the operation of all Flock cameras currently deployed throughout New Bedford.

  • Hold public hearings to solicit input from residents and collaboratively develop rules governing the use of Flock before any decision is made about its continued operation.

  • Release all policies governing data collection, retention, access, auditing, and the sharing of data with outside law enforcement agencies.

  • Adopt a permanent ordinance requiring public notice, public hearings, and a recorded roll call vote before any surveillance technology is approved or deployed in the future.

  • Publish regular transparency and accountability reports detailing how the system has been used, how many investigations it has assisted, what measurable public safety outcomes have resulted, and how often outside agencies have accessed New Bedford's data.

  • Require every future budget request involving surveillance technology to clearly identify the vendor, the exact amount being requested, and a plain-language description of the technology or service being purchased.

This petition is pro-transparency, pro-accountability, and pro-public participation.

Call to Action

1. Sign the Petition

Sign this petition if you believe New Bedford residents deserve transparency, meaningful oversight, and a voice before government surveillance technology is used in our community.

2. Stand Together at City Hall

Thursday, August 20, 2026
6:30 PM
New Bedford City Hall

A full City Council chamber sends a powerful message. Your presence shows our elected officials that the community is paying attention and expects transparency, accountability, and public involvement before surveillance technology is implemented or expanded.

Let's Fill the Room!

Resources:

Watch the public forum from July 28, 2026:

http://173.9.65.75/internetchannel/show/18133?channel=1


Petition by
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R N
New Bedford, Massachusetts

To: Petition to Mayor Jon Mitchell, the New Bedford City Council, and Police Chief Thody: Suspend Flock. We Demand Transparency.
From: [Your Name]

We, the undersigned residents and supporters of transparent government, respectfully urge you to immediately suspend the operation and expansion of the Flock Safety camera program until the City conducts a transparent public process regarding its continued use.

We ask that the City:

• Suspend the operation of all Flock cameras until meaningful public hearings have been held.

• Release all contracts, invoices, policies, and procedures governing the system, including data collection, retention, access, auditing, and information sharing with outside agencies.

• Publish regular transparency reports detailing how the system has been used, its measurable public safety outcomes, and how often outside agencies have accessed New Bedford's data.

• Require all future budget requests involving surveillance technology to clearly identify the vendor, the amount requested, and a plain-language description of the technology or service being purchased.

• Adopt a permanent ordinance requiring public notice, public hearings, and a recorded City Council vote before any surveillance technology is acquired, deployed, or expanded.

This petition is not about opposing law enforcement. It is about ensuring that powerful surveillance technology is never implemented without transparency, accountability, and meaningful public participation.

We respectfully ask you to restore public trust by committing to an open process before the Flock camera program continues.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned Residents and Supporters of New Bedford