New Bedford Busted Mugshots
New Bedford busted mugshots are maintained by the New Bedford Police Department at 871 Rockdale Avenue. The city has about 102,000 people and sits on the south coast in Bristol County. The police Records Division handles all booking photos and arrest reports. Criminal cases from New Bedford go through the Bristol County court system. You can look for New Bedford busted mugshots through the police, the state court portal, or a CORI record check. Each path gives you a different view of the arrest and the charges that came with it.
New Bedford Overview
New Bedford Police Busted Mugshots
The New Bedford Police Department is the primary source for busted mugshots in the city. The Records Division can be reached at (508) 991-6300 ext. 79526. You can file a request in person at the station on Rockdale Avenue, by mail, or in writing. Include the person's full name, the arrest date, and any case number you have. Specific requests get results faster than general ones.
Under M.G.L. c. 66 § 10, New Bedford police must respond within 10 business days. Copies cost $0.05 per page for black and white. The first two hours of search time are free. After two hours, the city can charge up to $25 per hour for staff time. The 2020 Supreme Judicial Court ruling confirmed that busted mugshots are public records in Massachusetts. Police cannot refuse to give them out by citing the CORI exemption alone.
| Department | New Bedford Police Department |
|---|---|
| Address | 871 Rockdale Avenue New Bedford, MA 02740 |
| Phone | (508) 991-6300 |
| Records | (508) 991-6300 ext. 79526 |
| Website | newbedford-ma.gov/police |
The New Bedford Police website has more info on department services. Walk-in requests are taken during business hours at the front desk. For urgent matters, call the main number first to check availability. Bring a valid photo ID if you go in person. Staff can help you fill out the request form and give you an estimate of fees for your New Bedford busted mugshots request.
Search New Bedford Court Records
New Bedford criminal cases go through the Bristol County court system. New Bedford District Court handles misdemeanors and preliminary hearings. Bristol Superior Court takes felony cases. The Massachusetts Trial Court eCourt portal lets you search court dockets for free online. You need a case number for criminal searches. Name lookups only work on the civil side.
Court records show charge details, hearing dates, and case outcomes. They do not include busted mugshots. For the booking photo, you need to go through the New Bedford Police Records Division. The court search guide walks you through using the eCourt system. If you have a case number from a New Bedford arrest, you can pull up the full docket and see every filing in the case.
The Bristol County Sheriff's Office at (508) 995-6400 runs the county jail. People held after an arrest in New Bedford may go through the county facility. The Bristol County Sheriff website has contact information and details on their booking process. The sheriff keeps its own records separate from the police department.
New Bedford Daily Arrest Log
Under M.G.L. c. 41 § 98F, New Bedford police must maintain a daily log of all arrests. The log shows the name, date, charge, and location of every arrest. It is public. You can view it at the station during business hours. The log does not include busted mugshots, but it tells you who got arrested and when. That gives you what you need to file a request for the booking photo and full arrest report.
The daily log is a good place to start if you know an arrest happened in New Bedford but lack a case number. It covers all bookings that go through the station each day.
The public records law under M.G.L. c. 4 § 7(26) presumes all government records are public unless a specific exemption applies. This covers busted mugshots, arrest reports, and daily logs in New Bedford. If a request gets denied, you can appeal to the state Supervisor of Public Records. That office reviews denials and can order the agency to release what you asked for. The process is straightforward and does not cost anything to file.
New Bedford CORI Checks
The iCORI portal covers New Bedford arrests through the statewide system. Public access costs $25. It shows court data only, not busted mugshots. Under M.G.L. c. 6 §§ 167 through 178B, the Department of Criminal Justice Information Services manages the program. You can also request your own CORI for $25 or get a free self-audit once every 90 days.
New Bedford residents who want to seal old records can petition the court under M.G.L. c. 276 § 100A. Misdemeanors need five years. Felonies need ten. Non-conviction records from after March 2024 now seal automatically under § 100C. The state sealing page has the forms and process details. There is no fee to file. Once sealed, the busted mugshot and arrest data will not appear in public searches.
Note: Expungement in New Bedford is only available for cases of false identification, law enforcement error, or offenses no longer considered crimes.
Bristol County Busted Mugshots
New Bedford is in Bristol County along with Fall River and Taunton. The county court system handles criminal cases from New Bedford and surrounding communities. For countywide arrest records, sheriff data, and court resources, visit the Bristol County busted mugshots page.
Nearby Cities
Fall River is the closest major city to New Bedford. Both sit in Bristol County and share the same county court system for criminal cases.