Six Newton City Council members want new rules governing how police acquire and use surveillance technology.

Councilors Brittany Hume Charm, Sean Roche, Cyrus Dahmubed, Susan Albright, Martha Bixby and Maria Scibelli Greenberg filed petition #301-26 on the council's Tuesday, Sept. 8, docket. The petition calls for a possible ordinance establishing upfront adoption review, community transparency, oversight standards and accountability measures for police surveillance technology deployment and data use.

The council referred the petition to the Public Safety & Transportation Committee. The panel has a 180-day deadline of March 7, 2027, to act.

The six sponsors span four wards. Charm represents Ward 5, Roche Ward 6, Dahmubed Ward 4, Albright Ward 2, Bixby Ward 6 and Greenberg Ward 1. All six were among 14 councilors who in 2026 filed a separate petition requesting a discussion of Newton's response to federal immigration enforcement.

The surveillance ordinance push follows a July 29 Public Safety & Transportation Committee meeting where the topic of police surveillance tools came up during a broader discussion of the city's ICE response. Police Chief Timothy Cohoon said at that meeting he supports automatic license plate readers with guardrails.

"There are plenty of compromises and ways we can do this to enhance public safety while addressing concerns," Cohoon said at the committee's July 29 meeting.

Cohoon also told the committee in July that the Newton Police Department was issuing a Request for Proposal (RFP) for body camera equipment and hoped to launch a pilot program by the end of the summer. The pilot, outlined at a May 7 budget hearing, calls for 24 cameras split evenly between superior officers and patrol officers. The pilot's current status is unclear.

The petition landed on the council docket two days before ICE agents detained two people in Newton on Thursday, Sept. 10. One person was taken into custody outside Newton District Court. A second was detained after ICE agents stopped a vehicle in front of City Hall, according to the Newton Beacon. As we reported Sept. 11, the School Committee moved to review the state PROTECT Act after those arrests.

Newton's Welcoming City Ordinance, passed in February 2017, prohibits city agencies from identifying, investigating or detaining people solely based on immigration status.

Minutes from the Sept. 8 council meeting had not been posted as of Sept. 13. No statements from the six petition sponsors were available. The committee is scheduled to report items to the full council on Tuesday, Sept. 22, though it has not been confirmed that #301-26 will be among them.