INDIANAPOLIS -- With Indianapolis on pace to surpass last year's 12,000 home burglaries, metro police created a specialized task force to take on the problem.

There have been 9,996 home burglaries so far this year, which is already 300 more than were reported this time last year, police officials told 6News' Jack Rinehart.

The department's new burglary task force will try to make a dent in that statistic, working closely with crime analysts and records from area pawn shops, officials said. Members will also focus on burglary hot spots and probationers and parolees with a history of burglary-related crimes.

"We're going to spend some days, maybe up to a week, in various districts, but depending on what our recent intelligence tells us," said task force member Lt. Marshall DePew. "So if somebody gives us a good lead, if we've got a good hot spot to look at, we could be just about anywhere."

For recent burglary victims, the news of the task force was welcome news.

"It's sad not to be able to feel safe in your own home, you know?" said Ruth Guthrie, whose home was burglarized two times in the past week. "I've lived here my whole life. This is where I grew up, this is my home. It's never happened before."

The new task force will be given free reign for 60 days. After that, the members' progress will be evaluated by the department.