Westbrook has joined the Southern Maine Violent Crimes Task Force in an effort to give a boost to the Westbrook Police Department’s mission and to assist other departments, Capt. Tom Roth, Westbrook’s acting chief, said last week.

Westbrook joins officers from Biddeford, Scarborough, Portland and South Portland, as well as sheriffs from York and Cumberland counties, and the U.S. Marshals Service.

Detective Sean Lally will be deputized as a part-time U.S. marshal to be the Westbrook Police Department’s representative to the task force.

The task force was started in early July, and is designed to give law enforcement agencies a leg up in apprehending violent criminals. Central Maine also has a similar task force.

Recently, the two task forces joined together to apprehend in Kittery a suspect from a robbery in Auburn, according to published reports.