Ulysha Renee Hall will swap one DPD for another this summer when the deputy chief from Detroit becomes Dallas' first female police chief.

Hall, named Dallas' next chief on Wednesday, said she hopes to have "all hands on deck" when she takes over the Dallas Police Department on Sept. 5.

"The Dallas Police Department — that's about to be my family," Hall said at a news conference in Detroit. "We are a family in blue already, but as their new leader, we're going to be just like family."

Dallas, Texas has a new police chief. Congratulations, Deputy Chief Renee Hall, from the Detroit Police Department! You will be missed. Posted by Detroit Police Department on Wednesday, July 19, 2017

City Manager T.C. Broadnax chose Hall from a pool of seven finalists, three of them internal candidates. She will make $225,000, which includes her base pay and other compensation.

"It was a difficult choice," Broadnax said Wednesday at Dallas City Hall, "but I believe Renee Hall will be a dynamic chief."

Dallas' chief position has been in flux since October, when Chief David Brown retired from the department. Assistant Chief of Police David Pughes ran the department as interim chief while officials searched for a permanent replacement.

Pughes didn’t apply for the job, but three insiders did: Deputy Chiefs Malik Aziz and Rick Watson and Assistant Chief Gary Tittle.

Dallas city managers have chosen outsiders for the top cop job multiple times in the last few decades. Three consecutive chiefs — Mack Vines, Bill Rathburn and Ben Click — all came to the city after careers in departments outside the state.

Aziz, who has been a finalist in several other cities, was a favorite among officers to become the next chief. He had no comment Wednesday about the selection.

The city manager's office initially selected eight finalists for the job, though Grand Prairie Police Chief Steve Dye withdrew his application.

The Dallas city manager touted Hall's passion for public service and said she has the right tools to solve the department's key challenges.

"Chief Hall is a proven leader with a stellar background," Broadnax said. "These qualities I believe are critical as we tackle crime to make our city safer while addressing organizational and policy issues within the department."

{"type":"video","title":"Dallas News Video","author_name":"Dallas News","_id":"5oYXh5YjE6crPGU_kkwUR_kuacT3ghpa","provider_name":"Ooyala","html":"

","raw":"{\"type\":\"video\",\"title\":\"Dallas News Video\",\"author_name\":\"Dallas News\",\"_id\":\"5oYXh5YjE6crPGU_kkwUR_kuacT3ghpa\",\"provider_name\":\"Ooyala\",\"html\":\"\\u003Cdiv class=\\\"oo-vid-container\\\" data-oo-content-id=\\\"5oYXh5YjE6crPGU_kkwUR_kuacT3ghpa\\\"\\u003E\\u003C\\/div\\u003E\\u003Cscript defer src=\\\"https:\\/\\/www.dallasnews.com\\/resources\\/motif\\/dist\\/js\\/ooyala.js\\\"\\u003E\\u003C\\/script\\u003E\"}","providerType":"ooyala","providerLink":"https://www.dallasnews.com/oembed","embedType":"video"}

Three women — Hall, Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez and Dallas County District Attorney Faith Johnson — now have some of the most powerful law enforcement jobs in the Dallas area.

At Wednesday's news conference, Hall said she wants young girls interested in law enforcement to follow their heart and to know that they, too, can become the chief of a major city someday.

"What I need women to know that we kind of do it a little different, a little better, a little bit more nurturing by nature," Hall said. "We add that special something to law enforcement that truly, truly calms that savage beast."

Hall has been on the Detroit force since 1999. She has dealt with several issues that parallel crises in Dallas. These include the increasing homeless population and the loose dogs that plague low-income neighborhoods. She now oversees officers in the east side of her city.

Detroit Police Chief James Craig said at Wednesday's news conference that he is excited for Hall's move to Dallas.

"I've got to give a lot of credit to Chief Hall for her consistency, her diligence and commitment to service excellence," he said.

The Detroit chief teased Hall about her move to Dallas, asking what will happen if the Dallas Cowboys take on the Detroit Lions in football next season.

"I will be wearing a Dallas Cowboys hat," Hall responded, "except when they play Detroit."

The most powerful law enforcement jobs in the county will all be held by women when Ulysha Renee Hall (left) takes the reins at the Dallas Police Department. Sheriff Lupe Valdez (middle) and Dallas District Attorney Faith Johnson are also pictured.

The incoming chief has a tough task ahead of her. She will step into a Police Department that has struggled in recent months to retain officers at a time when violent crimes and response times have increased.

In her cover letter for the Dallas chief job, Hall said she was responsible for managing the patrol staff and training officers on how to respond to terrorism.

She seems to subscribe to the community policing approach that Brown advocated for while running the department. She noted in her cover letter that her team in Detroit worked to boost morale and “created a policing environment that is attractive to the millennial generation.”

She touted double-digit reductions in Detroit’s crime rate for three years as one of her department’s accomplishments.

"I have to say that I'm putting a little competition between my former chief that the other DPD will be the best DPD," Hall said Wednesday, chuckling.

1 / 3Ulysha Renee Hall, a deputy chief in Detroit police, took part in a meet-and-greet with residents last week at Dallas City Hall(Tom Fox / Staff Photographer) 2 / 3The finalists for chief included (from left) Deputy Chief Carmen Best of Seattle, Deputy Chief, Dallas Deputy Chief Malik Aziz, Assistant Chief Luther Reynolds of Montgomery County, Md., First Assistant Chief Michel Moore of Los Angeles and Ulysha Renee Hall, the deputy chief in Detroit. Hall was named as the next chief. (Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News)(Tom Fox / Staff Photographer) 3 / 3U. Renee Hall, a Deputy Chief at the Detroit Police Department, answers questions from the media during a Dallas Police Chief candidate meet and greet at Dallas City Hall, Tuesday, July 11, 2017. (Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News)(Tom Fox / Staff Photographer)

"I believe I'm finishing what my dad started."— Deputy Chief Ulysha Renee Hall

Policing, though, is personal to her.

She was 6 months old when her father, also an officer, was gunned down in 1971, a murder case that remains unsolved.

"Closure is very important for myself and my family," Hall said in an interview with Detroit's WXYZ-TV last year. "We would like to know what happened. I believe I'm finishing what my dad started."

In a statement released by the city Wednesday, Hall said she looked forward to maintaining the trust of the community and ensuring the safety of officers and residents.

"I am honored to be chosen to lead the Dallas Police Department at this critical time in its history," she said in the written statement.

Craig, Hall's current boss, said last month that losing her would be a "blow, absolutely," but he was quick to point out that he encouraged her to apply for the job. If nothing else, he said, her hiring in Dallas would be a "testament" to the turnaround of the Detroit department in the years after the city's decision to file for bankruptcy.

"I know her temperament," he said, "and her commitment to the community and the rank and file. We have a saying here: Cops count, but leadership matters. ... Clearly, in my mind, she would be an outstanding chief."

Staff writer Tristan Hallman and Robert Wilonsky contributed to this report.