Oxley police suspect juveniles are involved in Tamworth and Gunnedah property crime | Operation Western Mongoose

A targeted operation - code-named Western Mongoose - has been re-launched, triggered by an increase in car thefts and break-ins.

Oxley Superintendent Kylie Endemi said police believed some young people may be involved.

"Unfortunately again we are seeing and suspecting that there are juveniles involved in some of these offences, which again is disappointing to see kids of such a tender age involved in that," she said.

She said Operation Western Mongoose officers would work with the NSW Police Youth Command as well as other support services.

"It's not just about locking people up and putting them before the courts - when we're talking about juveniles, there's a number of diversion strategies that are really important for us in terms of leading theses kids away from a criminal pathway," she said.

Operation Western Mongoose was relaunched again last week, arresting a 13-year-old on stolen car charges and breaching bail, after it ran for three months earlier this year.

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"We have seen a slight increase in break, enter and steals and stolen motor vehicles across the Oxley Police District within the past few weeks, particularly within the sectors of Tamworth and Gunnedah," Superintendent Endemi said.

"We're working on a number of strategies and a number of leads and information at the moment that I expect will yield good results.

"My strong message to the community is that this is not where we were a few months ago, this increase in offending and those triggers that have presented to us has allowed us to get on the front foot early."

She said police were taking a proactive approach.

Superintendent Endemi said Operation Western Mongoose was extremely successful between April and July and had a blueprint that could be adapted on a needs basis.

"It's agile, it's flexible, it's collaborative across the Oxley Police District and various other units," she said.

"It's a model we will continue to utilise whenever we need it."

The operation is made up of detectives, proactive police, the dog squad, reinforcement team, highway patrol and the Youth Command.

Superintendent Endemi urged the community to call police or Crime Stoppers about any suspicious activity, or with information about crime across the community.

She urged everyone to lock up their homes and cars and be mindful of personal security to make it difficult for opportunistic prowlers.

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