They say it's going to make North Central Florida safer for you and more treacherous for criminals.

The Gainesville Police Department has a new way of fighting crime, it's called The Violent Crimes Task Force.

Authorities are alarmed about the ever-increasing number of robberies in town.

They're hoping the new task force will be the tool they need to combat the problem.

Police say robberies in Gainesville have almost doubled.

In 2005, they say they worked one hundred and sixty-eight robberies.

Just a year later, two hundred and fifty robberies.

Now, they say the task force will help them respond to robberies like the one over the weekend.

That's when a mother and son were robbed at knife point in Ward's Supermarket parking lot.

Lt. Keith Kameg says "As soon as a case comes out.

We can send a number of officers and detectives to work a case."

If you know anything about the robbery that happened in ward's parking lot.

You're asked to call the violent crimes task force.

That number is 334-2468.

By Gavin Johnson, WCJB TV 20 News