Minneapolis citizens are going to see more of their new police chief Janeé Harteau, than her low-key predecessor, Tim Dolan, she tells the Minneapolis Star Tribune. "They will know I am chief, because I will be delivering the bad news," she said. Harteau appears today before a City Council committee, and she is expected to be confirmed on Friday. A Minneapolis cop for 25 years, Harteau, 48, gets a strong endorsement from grizzled department veterans and from police union president, John Delmonico, who says the difference between Harteau and Dolan will be "like night and day."

To combat a rise in violent crime, up 12 percent in October compared to last year, she wants to continue focusing on "micro hot spots" where crimes are most likely to occur and on the individuals most likely to commit them, she said. A second priority, she said, will be dealing with "systemic issues" by partnering with schools, social service agencies, and other entities to work with juveniles before their problems become police issues. Asked if she plans to clean house, she said she was reviewing every police unit and function "and when it comes to creating a team, I'm looking at those people whose strengths complement mine, what talents I need in those positions and those who share the same values as I." The first female chief in the city, she is in a committed relationship with police Sgt. Holly Keegel. The pair shared a squad car as patrol officers in their earlier years on the force, writing two small books on safety issues, and were sometimes referred to as "Cagney & Lacey," after the characters from a 1980s television police series.