New Bedford, MA Public Conduct: Loitering Rules (2026)

Section 17-16, "Loitering," has two distinct prongs. Subsection (a) prohibits all persons from gathering and standing in groups on the streets, avenues, and sidewalks of the city in a manner that obstructs the free passage of persons or vehicles. c. 94C, § 1, and it lists specific circumstances an officer may weigh: whether the person is a known illegal drug user, possessor, or seller, or is at a location frequented by such people; whether the person repeatedly beckons or attempts to engage passers-by, on foot or in vehicles, for the purpose of inducing a drug transaction; and whether the person repeatedly exchanges money, objects, or written material with passers-by for that purpose.

The ordinance builds in due-process protections for the drug-loitering prong: a conviction requires proof that the person's language or conduct expressly or impliedly demonstrated specific intent to induce a drug transaction, and no arrest can be made under subsection (b) unless the officer first gives the person a chance to explain their conduct, with no conviction possible if that explanation is shown at trial to be true and lawful. A "known illegal user, possessor or seller" is defined as someone convicted of a controlled-substance offense within one year prior to the arrest, to the arresting officer's knowledge. 00 fine for violating any provision of the section. The ordinance dates to a July 19, 1984 ordinance, amended June 11, 1992.