One day after being sworn in as the Los Angeles Police Department's new chief, Charlie Beck on Wednesday urged his command staff to continue making community policing and openness top priorities, alongside crime reduction.

At his first staff meeting since being named police chief, Beck said community trust and racial harmony should be fostered at every level of the department.

"My goal in the next five years is that the LAPD is seen as this town's police department in the way you (root for) your favorite team," Beck said.

"We have a lot to do - a lot of things need to get done."

Beck, who served as LAPD chief of detectives since 2007, also pledged to continue reducing the crime rate; follow the tenets of the consent decree; be vigilant against acts of terrorism; and further expand the force.

"We can never go back to the individual acts that led to federal monitoring," he said, referring to the Rampart Division scandal in which officers were accused of making false arrests, giving perjured testimony and framing innocent people.

"You can't enforce the law by breaking the law," Beck said.

Beck also said captains who oversee police stations across the city will be given more authority and additional resources to deal with local problems.

"This organization shouldn't be dependant on one person," he said during the late afternoon conference at the new Police Administration Building downtown. "I will expect a lot from you."

The chief also urged his staff to develop a more open relationship with the media.

"If you know the information, give it out," he said.

Such transparency, he said, "builds community trust."

Beck - who joined the department as a reserve officer in March 1975 - takes the helm of the LAPD at a time of severe financial crisis.

In recent months, officials have agreed to maintain the ranks of the LAPD at 9,963 officers, though Beck has since said that number should serve as "the floor, not the ceiling" for the size of the force.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa chose the 32-year police veteran to replace Bratton. Beck was sworn in on Tuesday.