Tis The Season For Armed Robberies

Bossier City Police say they always see a spike in armed robberies this time of year. And they`re counting on the help of a special task force to keep the criminals at bay. Sergeant Todd Hylman has been participating in the Armed Robbery Task Force for fourteen years. "We generally go sporadically to businesses that we either know that there`s a lot of business. Or that there`s been a history of problems in that business before," said Hylman. But you won`t find him out in the open. Task force members do their surveillance inside coolers or in back rooms of the business. While it doesn`t always prevent a crime from happening, Hylman says it does make them easier to investigate. "It just really makes to solvability go way up." The task force is a godsend for convenience store managers like Rhonda Duddy. "Oh I think it`s a great thing," said Duddy. Rhonda says her employees keep crime prevention as a top priority year round, but are even more on their toes during the holiday season. "We do enforce and have a lot of training for our employees. As far as our cash levels... we have very low cash levels," said Duddy. But they still have to expect the unexpected. So having access to the task force is an added bonus. "I just appreciate the police in Bossier doing what they`re doing. It really makes my clerks and everybody feel more safe." More officers will also be out patrolling the streets in unmarked vehicles. "We supplement our normal patrol shifts by sending additional officers in the city in peak times during the day," said Hylman. This is the 20th year for the Armed Robbery Task Force. And police say it`s had a significant impact on decreasing holiday crime.