Atlanta is the 9th largest metro area in the United States and the largest commercial and transportation hub of the southeast. It also has the busiest airport in the nation. In fact, nearly a quarter million passengers flow through every day. Atlanta is also nicknamed "The Perimeter" because Interstate 285 makes the clear distinction of the boundaries to both the inside and the outside of the city. With such a heavily populated and well-traveled area, law enforcement agencies here face fiscal challenges to provide protection and also ensure Atlanta is as safe and secure as possible.

Chief of Police Richard Pennington faces challenges similar to other major metro areas in complying with Department of Homeland Security (DHS) regulations. The goal is to protect critical infrastructure while maintaining a low crime rate.

The Atlanta Police Department holds weekly meetings for the command staff of 150 as well as the special operations and airport zone employees. Entitled "Command Operations Briefing to Revitalize Atlanta" (COBRA), meetings begin with attendees reporting to Pennington to identify areas with high criminal activity.

According to Pennington, the crime rate in Atlanta has improved from the second highest in the nation to its current ranking of 17th.

At the COBRA meetings, the overhead screens tell the tale. New crime mapping technology illustrates the increases and decreases in murders, rapes, robberies, narcotics arrests, domestic violence and gang activity. Each commander shares information, reports and intelligence from within the city and surrounding counties.

Officers also give their report to indicate exactly the type of equipment needed to reduce crime, which often changes on a weekly basis. Depending on the greatest need, meeting topics vary from car theft to gang activity to a reduction in narcotics requests.

In light of the unexpected 5 percent crime rate increase thus far in 2007, Pennington's goal is to reduce crime by 8 percent by the end of the year.

"Any increase is unacceptable and I won't tolerate it. We are going to improve on last year's progress," Pennington says.

Though not designated as one of the "Tier One" cities, Atlanta currently receives Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) grant assistance.

Approximately $1 million was allotted to the airport between 2004 and 2006 along with funding from DHA and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to comply with new federal regulations after September 11, 2001.