Why New Bedford’s Guardian Angels Chapters Failed

Curtis Sliwa, most recently a candidate for Mayor of New York City, tried twice to establish a New Bedford chapter of the Guardian Angels, but was unsuccessful both times.

New Bedford's first Guardian Angels Chapter launched in 1983, but lasted only two years. There was another attempt to bring the Guardian Angels to New Bedford, which fizzled in 2010, almost two years after it began.

The second attempt to form a Guardian Angels chapter included Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School instructor and future Ward 3 City Councilor Henry Bousquet.

What Are the Guardian Angels?

The Guardian Angels are a volunteer-based citizen crime patrol founded on Valentine's Day 1979 by Sliwa in response to crime and violence on the New York City subway system.

Known for their red berets and red jackets, the Guardian Angels patrolled streets in communities where they had chapters, watching for crime and offering educational programs. Angels were unarmed and made citizen arrests.

Why the Guardian Angels Failed in New Bedford

Bousquet left the group partly due to public apathy.

"There is no one stepping up to help, despite your efforts to recruit and despite the need for it," Bousquet told Boston Public Radio on September 8, 2010. "There is a grievous need for additional public safety personnel of some kind on the streets of New Bedford."

"At the time, we had issues everywhere," Bousquet told me recently. "The police had taken a big hit, and there was a group of us who trained with Curtis Sliwa and his Brockton team."

Local Impact of the New Bedford Guardian Angels

Bosquet said the local Angels chapter patrolled "around the Avenue, near St. Anthony's, Smith Street, Ruth Street, Roosevelt Street, and Rivet Street, train tracks, encampments, etc."

Sometimes their territory included downtown, "just so we could do outreach."

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Bousquet said low numbers led to the chapter disbanding.

"We were shrinking, and it wasn't safe the way we were. Nobody could justify the participation any longer," he said. ""The police department was more concerned for our safety than anything else." He said Mayor Scott Lang was "embarrassed about the whole thing."