TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The state of Kansas is creating a new investigative unit to combat an increase in cattle theft.

Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt and the Kansas Department of Agriculture announced a joint agreement Monday to form a new Livestock/Brand Investigation Unit.

The unit will help local law enforcement agencies investigate suspected cattle thefts. It will be part of the Attorney General office’s consumer protection division. It will be led by Kendal Lothman, a 22-year veteran of law enforcement who spent six years as Kiowa County sheriff.

Schmidt said in a news release that the new unit will combine the law enforcement authority of the attorney general’s office with the livestock investigations authority of the agriculture department.