Image: Mal Fairclough

A team of specialist police will be monitoring the CBD for any signs of street gang activity tonight, in a bid to reduce New Year’s Eve violence.

Over the past four days, police have arrested 14 people as part of a crack down on youth and high harm offending, as they work to prevent a repeat of the Moomba riots of 2016.

So far, 12 males and two females have been arrested and 29 charges have been laid for offences including robbery, affray, burglary, endangering life and vehicle crime linked to serious offending.

Eleven of those arrested are aged between 14 and 22.

North West Metro Region Acting Assistant Commissioner Tim Hansen said the crack down is a tactic that has worked before.

“We want to ensure criminals who are committing crimes such as robbery, affray and vehicle crime or who are flouting the law by not complying with court orders or conditions are held to account and off our streets,” he said in a statement.

“This is a tactic we’ve used previously for major events such as Moomba and White Night. It’s about maximising safety and sending a really strong message to a small group of offenders who have the potential to inflict significant harm on the community.”