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NEW BEDFORD — When cities bring in an outsider to lead a police department, it can be for a number of reasons. Sometimes there’s been a controversy or reputational damage; city leadership wants a change in department culture; or, as officials might convey at press conferences or in job postings, they’re seeking the best possible candidate, whether local or not.
2026 LOOK FORWARD
When Jason Thody, a former police chief from Connecticut, was announced as the new head for the New Bedford Police Department — the first outside chief since the 1990s — Mayor Jon Mitchell fielded a question from the press about misconduct allegations in recent media coverage. But he turned his remarks to the progress planned and underway under the previous chief, goals that Thody would push forward.
Now five months into his new role, Thody has laid out a one-year plan for the city’s police force, much of which will take effect in 2026. The five-page document bears a plain name, “Year One Goals & Objectives,” but the more than 50 bullet points together spell a vision for a reformed department. Amid recent scrutiny, it calls for new audits and transparency reports, new policies and processes for the criticized narcotics and internal affairs units, and new officer committees and positions.
Thody straddles the fence around the title “reformer.” Asked if he thinks he’s one, he responds “yes and no”; he says he’s not a “change agent.” But other comments and plans affirm he has come to New Bedford to usher in change.
“There’s a lot of positives here, but one negative is how many times a day I hear, ‘This is the way we’ve always done it,’” Thody told city councilors during a confirmation hearing in December. “That is something that I will change for sure.”
After two critical reports, how will police respond?
Several of Thody’s goals draw from the recommendations of two consulting firms that the city hired in 2023 and 2025 to review the department’s inner workings and issues, particularly in the narcotics division and the unit that investigates officers reported for alleged misconduct.
Several of the two reports’ findings overlapped, and some from the earlier report had yet to be adopted. Under this new plan, the department will publish a document that will track progress in implementing the reports’ recommendations.
“NBPD does not nearly require as much wholesale fixing as it seemed like it did during my research and reading the media attention and … recommendations,” Thody said in an interview. “I would say probably 70%, maybe even 80% of the things that need to be addressed here are training, policy driven, and those will drive the 20%, which is culture — an embedded, way-we’ve-always-done-it philosophy.”
More new leadership coming
The department will hire a deputy chief — a position that has been vacant for a few years and will be open to external candidates — and a chief of staff, a wholly new position.
Thody said he proposed adding a chief of staff to Mitchell, but noted one of the consultant reports also recommended it. The position will deal with the administrative side of the department: overseeing budget, grants, crime data, human resources and facilities.
As recommended by the 2025 21CP report, the narcotics unit will undergo a reorganization, by both structure and name. Previously called the Organized Crime Intelligence Bureau (OCIB), it’s now the Violent Crime and Intelligence Unit (VCIU). Thody let the members of the unit come up with their new title.
As for the Professional Standards Unit, which conducts internal affairs investigations, it will undergo a “policy and structure update.”
Across all ranks, Thody is looking to implement more training and collaboration.
This includes ABLE training, which stands for Active Bystandership for Law Enforcement. It teaches officers how to intervene when they observe misconduct.
In an example of more collaboration, the narcotics unit previously operated on a separate, private radio channel. Now, following recommendations by the consultants, they operate on a shared channel, meaning patrol knows what the specialized unit is up to.
The plan also calls for patrol officers to take 90-day temporary positions in specialized units, to allow officers to gain experience and “create integration” among the different units.
And to capture input from rank and file for improvements, Thody has established committees on forced overtime, time off, and training.
Audits and public-facing reports
In 2026, Thody intends to publish an updated policy manual online, an annual report that addresses crime and transparency, a data dashboard with crime statistics, and a new section on the department’s website with progress reports on reforms, according to the plan.
At least one review has already been completed: an assessment of the Woodcock Shooting Range in Dartmouth, which is owned and operated by the department. Neighbors in recent years have complained about noise and safety concerns. Thody said the assessment was carried out with support from the National Rifle Association.
It’s currently under review by Assistant Deputy Chief Derek Belong. Thody was not sure if the assessment touched on environmental concerns. According to a 2014 investigation by the Seattle Times, only about 3% of the nation’s indoor and outdoor gun ranges had been inspected in a decade, and of those inspected, more than 85% violated at least one lead-related standard.
In response to inquiries from The Light in October, an NBPD spokesperson said environmental concerns were previously explored by the Dartmouth Conservation Commission, which found that “data shows no heavy metal impacts to the ground water.”
Thody said the old shooting range got a good review.
As for audits, he plans to implement several. With internal affairs, he said it could take the form of putting together an “inspections unit” (which, given the size of the department, may only be one person). This unit could pull random body camera footage and speak to complainants to ask about their experience filing a complaint.
Thody said oversight could also involve an officer from Massachusetts State Police or the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office coming in and reviewing a few internal affairs cases for policy and standards compliance.
Bike and foot patrols, 311 reports, and a 150th anniversary
New Bedford residents can expect to see bike patrols and foot patrols later in 2026 to reinforce the department’s “community policing” model, where the focus is building trust and relationships with residents. The department expected a federal grant for bicycles earlier in 2025, but the lengthy government shutdown delayed the funding.
Residents may also notice a cleaner city; at least that’s the hope. At Thody’s direction, all cruiser laptops now have the city’s 311 application (NBConnected). If an officer sees a street light that’s out, a pile of litter or a sizable pothole, they’re encouraged to pick up the litter or report it so that the city can quickly address it.
“Those things are quality of life and they affect us every day, and they affect every resident,” Thody said at a recent City Council meeting.
The department also has plans to celebrate its 150 years of operations. There have been organized police in New Bedford since at least 1794, but the department was formally established in 1876.
Assistant Deputy Chief Scott Carola is heading one of the new committees, which is tasked with organizing events and celebrations for the anniversary.
As one would expect, Thody wants to highlight the positives and share good stories coming out of the department he now leads. While transparency is one accountability measure, Thody also sees it as a marketing tool to build community trust and recruit new officers.
In interviews and public remarks, Thody often hearkens back to his experiences in Hartford. It’s where he spent most of his professional life, and where he saw “a lot of turnover,” with a new chief every two to three years, on average. His favorite was one of the external hires, former New York Police Department Narcotics Chief Patrick Harnett, who led the department when Thody was a sergeant in his late 20s.
“We thought we did everything pretty well. But this guy came in and really opened our eyes in a collaborative way. Not in an outside, occupying force kind of way,” said Thody, now 50. Harnett lasted about two years before retiring to consulting work — something Thody was doing before he took this job.
Thody, whose contract expires in July 2028, says he plans to be here longer: “I don’t consider myself a change agent in the sense where I’m coming in here for a couple of years and turning this place on its head” and then leaving.
“I’m not looking to change or turn this ship so quickly that people fall off of it,” he said. “I want to do it collaboratively and in a way where people don’t fear the change, but embrace it.”
Email Anastasia E. Lennon at alennon@newbedfordlight.org.
This Mayor has to stop hiring positions for our police department from outside of our community that don’t have a vested interest in the welfare and safety of New Bedford. No more external hiring in all city departments. No more made-up positions that are paying people who get residency waivers that come with ridiculous salaries. Start taking care of the residents and taxpayers who are struggling to survive. A.new Administration is long overdue and is what the Doctor ordered.