For newly appointed Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck, the past few weeks have been filled with firsts as he and the department get accustomed to Beck being in charge.

Today, however, offered a particularly special and personal moment for Beck as he presided over graduation ceremonies for a class of 32 recruits from the LAPD's training academy, including his son.

Several hundred family members, department brass and others gathered on the parade grounds at the Police Academy for the morning ceremony. As he will do frequently in the coming years, Beck did a formal inspection of each graduate, walking along the lines of 27 men and five women standing at attention.

"Today, as these officers graduate from the academy, you become part of my family," Beck said, addressing the parents, siblings and spouses in the crowd. "One the side of our [patrol] cars, it says 'To Protect and to Serve.' That is what they will do with the community. But that is also what I pledge to do with them for you."

Turning his attention to the graduates, Beck implored them to reflect on the weight of the responsibility that comes with their new badges.

"What you do is important. What you do is significant. What you do determines the fate of this city. And if you do it right this city can be a wonderful place. It can enjoy crime reduction, it can enjoy racial harmony...families can prosper, business can thrive. If you do it wrong, all that goes backwards."

He warned the group of the inevitable day in the not-too-distant future when they will be confronted with a case, in which "someone desperately deserves to go to jail," but there is too little evidence to justify an arrest.

"You will be faced with a decision about whether you articulate what you know to be the truth or you change that in order that the person goes to jail. You will have to do the right thing. Process is more important than results. I require, I demand that we police constitutionally. If we do that, we build faith between us and the communities we serve."

Beck handed diplomas to each member of the class, proof that they had completed the rigorous six-month training program. When his son, Martin, walked on to the dais to receive his, the pair embraced. His son is the latest in a string of Becks to join the force. Beck's father is a retired deputy chief, his sister is a retired LAPD detective and his stepdaughter is a patrol officer in Hollywood.

--Joel Rubin