(CNN) Baltimore is turning to the federal government for help in stemming a dramatic uptick in violence over the last several months.

Ten federal agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration; the U.S. Secret Service and the U.S. Marshals Service will embed with the police department's homicide unit for the next 60 days, city leaders announced Monday.

They join the 20 ATF agents who were sent in last week to form BFED, a joint task force that "is the next step of an all-hands-on-deck movement addressing violence in our community," Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said Monday.

'Innovative ways to bring charges'

The loaning of law enforcement officials is a common practice between local police departments and federal agencies for a particular investigation, but what makes this move unusual is that this isn't for any one specific investigation, and the loaning is typically done the other way around -- local detectives are usually plucked to assist a federal investigation, according to interim Police Commissioner Kevin Davis.

The task force's federal reach will enable the city to "come up with innovative ways to bring charges against people harming the community," that they otherwise couldn't, said Davis.

Photos: Baltimore protests Photos: Baltimore protests People hold hands during a rally at Baltimore City Hall on Sunday, May 3. The death of Freddie Gray, who died in police custody, sparked rioting in Baltimore and protests across the country Hide Caption 1 of 68 Photos: Baltimore protests Members of the National Guard board a truck at an armory staging area on May 3 in Baltimore. After a night of relatively peaceful protests, the city lifted a curfew , the National Guard is preparing its exit and a mall that had been a flashpoint in the protests has been reopened. Hide Caption 2 of 68 Photos: Baltimore protests Medics take a man away after police pepper-sprayed him on Saturday, May 2, in Baltimore's Sandtown neighborhood where Freddie Gray was arrested in April. Hide Caption 3 of 68 Photos: Baltimore protests Police detain a man on May 2 in Baltimore's Sandtown neighborhood. Hide Caption 4 of 68 Photos: Baltimore protests Protesters hold signs on May 2 in the Sandtown neighborhood. Hide Caption 5 of 68 Photos: Baltimore protests Protesters march from the Gilmor Homes housing community, where Freddie Gray was arrested, to City Hall on Saturday, May 2, in Baltimore. Hide Caption 6 of 68 Photos: Baltimore protests Police in riot gear enforce a 10 p.m. curfew and clear Baltimore streets of protesters and media on Friday, May 1. Hide Caption 7 of 68 Photos: Baltimore protests U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Maryland, helps clear Baltimore streets of protesters on May 1. Hide Caption 8 of 68 Photos: Baltimore protests Demonstrators celebrate the announcement that six officers were charged May 1 in Gray's death. Hide Caption 9 of 68 Photos: Baltimore protests Demonstrators march through the streets of Baltimore after the charges against the officers were announced May 1. Hide Caption 10 of 68 Photos: Baltimore protests Police on horseback block a Baltimore street on May 1. Hide Caption 11 of 68 Photos: Baltimore protests A demonstrator celebrates in Baltimore the charges were announced on May 1. Hide Caption 12 of 68 Photos: Baltimore protests A member of the National Guard stands outside Baltimore City Hall as protesters gather on Wednesday, April 29. Hide Caption 13 of 68 Photos: Baltimore protests High school and college students march from Baltimore's Penn Station to City Hall on April 29. Hide Caption 14 of 68 Photos: Baltimore protests A community organizer later identified as Joseph Kent paces in front of riot police with his hands up during a curfew in Baltimore on Tuesday, April 28. Moments later, he was seen being arrested by police live on CNN . Kent's lawyer said on April 30 that his client had been released from jail. While some protesters defied the curfew and faced off with police, demonstrations Tuesday were largely peaceful. Hide Caption 15 of 68 Photos: Baltimore protests State Sen. Catherine E. Pugh embraces a protester while urging the crowd to disperse ahead of the 10 p.m. curfew. Hide Caption 16 of 68 Photos: Baltimore protests People attempt to stop protesters from approaching a police line on April 28. Hide Caption 17 of 68 Photos: Baltimore protests A Baltimore police captain tries to calm a protester on April 28. Hide Caption 18 of 68 Photos: Baltimore protests Two women sweep up the streets in Baltimore -- reflected in the broken window of a storefront on April 28. See more photos of the cleanup efforts. Hide Caption 19 of 68 Photos: Baltimore protests A band plays music during protests on April 28 in Baltimore. Hide Caption 20 of 68 Photos: Baltimore protests A boy in Baltimore offers water to a police officer on April 28. Hide Caption 21 of 68 Photos: Baltimore protests Jerrie Mckenny, left, and her sister Tia Sexton embrace as demonstrators hold hands and sing the hymn "Amazing Grace" in Baltimore on April 28. Hide Caption 22 of 68 Photos: Baltimore protests Demonstrators stand in front of a police line and call for peace after a bottle was thrown on April 28. Hide Caption 23 of 68 Photos: Baltimore protests Maryland National Guardsmen patrol the streets on April 28. Hide Caption 24 of 68 Photos: Baltimore protests The remains of a senior center smolder on April 28. Riots broke out Monday, April 27, after Freddie Gray's funeral Hide Caption 25 of 68 Photos: Baltimore protests Police retreat from burned-out cars in an intersection on Monday, April 27. Hide Caption 26 of 68 Photos: Baltimore protests Firefighters respond to a burning building during the riots late April 27. Hide Caption 27 of 68 Photos: Baltimore protests A police officer walks by a burning building on April 27. Hide Caption 28 of 68 Photos: Baltimore protests Police stand guard on April 27. Hide Caption 29 of 68 Photos: Baltimore protests Protesters climb on a destroyed Baltimore Police car in the street near the corner of Pennsylvania and North avenues on April 27. Hide Caption 30 of 68 Photos: Baltimore protests A mixture of milk and water rolls down a man's chest after he was pepper sprayed by the Baltimore Police April 27. Hide Caption 31 of 68 Photos: Baltimore protests A man rides a bicycle through heavy smoke emitting from a nearby store on fire April 27. Hide Caption 32 of 68 Photos: Baltimore protests A man shouts for calm as protesters clash with police April 27. Hide Caption 33 of 68 Photos: Baltimore protests Police carry an injured officer from the streets near Mondawmin Mall in Baltimore on April 27. Hide Caption 34 of 68 Photos: Baltimore protests People carrying goods leave a CVS pharmacy near Pennsylvania and North avenues on April 27. Hide Caption 35 of 68 Photos: Baltimore protests A demonstrator raises his fist as police stand in formation on April 27. Hide Caption 36 of 68 Photos: Baltimore protests Armored cars drive down Pennsylvania Avenue as looters break into shops on April 27. Hide Caption 37 of 68 Photos: Baltimore protests People lock arms and form a line opposing police at the corner of Pennsylvania and North avenues on April 27. Hide Caption 38 of 68 Photos: Baltimore protests Police form a barrier between protesters and a burning CVS being attended to by firefighters on April 27. Hide Caption 39 of 68 Photos: Baltimore protests People carry goods out of a CVS pharmacy on April 27. Hide Caption 40 of 68 Photos: Baltimore protests A police vehicle burns April 27. Hide Caption 41 of 68 Photos: Baltimore protests A police officer throws an object at protesters on April 27. Hide Caption 42 of 68 Photos: Baltimore protests A man carries items from a store as police vehicles burn on April 27. Hide Caption 43 of 68 Photos: Baltimore protests A police officer checks on a man who was injured on April 27. Hide Caption 44 of 68 Photos: Baltimore protests A police officer is carried to safety after being hit in the head with a rock during the riot on April 27. Hide Caption 45 of 68 Photos: Baltimore protests A police officer uses pepper spray on rioters on April 27. Hide Caption 46 of 68 Photos: Baltimore protests Police officers push back a protester on April 27. Hide Caption 47 of 68 Photos: Baltimore protests Police react during the riot on April 27. Hide Caption 48 of 68 Photos: Baltimore protests Baltimore police officers in riot gear look toward protesters near Mondawmin Mall on April 27. Hide Caption 49 of 68 Photos: Baltimore protests Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony Batts chases away protesters in a parking lot on April 27. Hide Caption 50 of 68 Photos: Baltimore protests A woman abandons her car in the middle of an intersection as Baltimore Police officers clash with protesters outside the Mondawmin Mall in Baltimore on April 27. Hide Caption 51 of 68 Photos: Baltimore protests Police handle the protesters during a riot on April 27. Hide Caption 52 of 68 Photos: Baltimore protests A demonstrator taunts police on April 27. Hide Caption 53 of 68 Photos: Baltimore protests Protesters stand off with police during a march in honor of Gray in Baltimore on Saturday, April 25. Hide Caption 54 of 68 Photos: Baltimore protests A protester throws a barricade at a bar near Oriole Park at Camden Yards after a rally on April 25. Hide Caption 55 of 68 Photos: Baltimore protests Protesters chase after a car as it drives in reverse after the rally on April 25. Hide Caption 56 of 68 Photos: Baltimore protests A protester breaks a store window after the rally in Baltimore on April 25. Hide Caption 57 of 68 Photos: Baltimore protests Protesters get into a shoving match with police during a march downtown on April 25. Hide Caption 58 of 68 Photos: Baltimore protests Protesters and police square off April 25. Hide Caption 59 of 68 Photos: Baltimore protests Protesters drive through the Camden Yards area on April 25. Hide Caption 60 of 68 Photos: Baltimore protests Members of the Baltimore Police Department stand guard Thursday, April 23, outside the department's Western District station during a protest. Hide Caption 61 of 68 Photos: Baltimore protests A police officer films protesters from the steps of the Western District station on April 23. Hide Caption 62 of 68 Photos: Baltimore protests Empowerment Temple Pastor Jamal Harrison Bryant speaks in front of City Hall in Baltimore on April 23. Hide Caption 63 of 68 Photos: Baltimore protests Demonstrators put their fists in the air during a protest outside the Baltimore police's Western District station on Wednesday, April 22. Hide Caption 64 of 68 Photos: Baltimore protests Hundreds of demonstrators march toward the Western District station on April 22. Hide Caption 65 of 68 Photos: Baltimore protests People march through the streets of Baltimore on April 22. Hide Caption 66 of 68 Photos: Baltimore protests Demonstrators argue with Baltimore officers during the protest on April 22. Hide Caption 67 of 68 Photos: Baltimore protests A woman is comforted during the protest on April 22. Hide Caption 68 of 68

"Our federal law enforcement partners bring tools to bear that we necessarily don't enjoy, federal assets and federal techniques that will help us close more homicide cases," he said.

All hands -- or at least a lot of them -- were on deck at Monday's press conference announcing BFED.

"We will do all in our power to make sure the resources are here to make this endeavor a success," said Maryland Democratic Sen. Barbara Mikulski, speaking on behalf of the state's congressional delegation.

"There have been 191 killings (this year) in the city of Baltimore, that is completely unacceptable," said Baltimore City State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby. "The police can't do it alone. The state's attorney can't do it alone."

Record-breaking violence

The violence in Baltimore has been record-breaking so far this year.

The 42 homicides in May made it the city's deadliest month since 1972, but that record, which stood for more than 40 years, was surpassed just two months later by 45 slayings in July.

Three days into August have brought three more homicides.

Violence is not uncommon in Baltimore. The city of more than 600,000 "has always had a very high homicide rate for many years," city council member Carl Stokes told CNN.

But 2015 has been anything but ordinary.

The city has seemingly been in a perpetual state of turmoil ever since the events surrounding the death of Freddie Gray, the 25-year-old man who died while in police custody in April.

The demonstrations that followed devolved into riots, plunging the city into a violent, chaotic powder keg that proved overwhelming for the local police department.

By the time the dust settled, Mosby had charged six Baltimore Police officers in Gray's death, Rawlings-Blake had fired the police commissioner, and the city itself, like Ferguson, Missouri before it, had become a symbol of the mistrust and enmity many minority communities feel toward the police department.

One by one, Baltimore's officials appealed to the community for their help in the effort.

"Community we need you to step forward; we cannot do this alone," said Mosby. "Everyone has a stake in the safety and outcome of our communities."

"If we are not working together, the community and the police together, none of us will see the safe city that we want to see," said Rawlings-Blake.

"I said it before and I'll say it again. The police need the community and the community needs the police," said Rep. Elijah Cummings, a Maryland Democrat. "The only people who are doing pretty good now are the morticians."