ATLANTA - Richard Pennington, former New Orleans police chief, has been sworn in as Atlanta's new police chief. <br>
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He replaces Beverly Harvard, who did not seek to retain the position she held for eight years. Harvard did not attend the swearing-in ceremony for her successor Tuesday. <br>
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The 55-year-old Pennington had been police chief in New Orleans since 1994 and was widely credited with cutting the city's rate of violent crime. He also toughened standards and helped reduce corruption in the department. <br>
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Pennington says his top priorities in Atlanta will be improving morale and recruiting good men and women. <br>
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Pennington says he will spend his first 30 days reviewing the department and another two months developing a plan on how to run it. He says he already plans to upgrade technology, publish crimes on the Internet and introduce a new crime-tracking system. <br>
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Pennington also says he will work on increasing officer pay.
