Police have arrested 40 young people from across Melbourne’s outer suburbs and Geelong who they say have been involved in a range of high-impact offences including home invasions and vehicle crime.

In a statement, Victoria Police said the majority of those arrested were aged between 15 and 21 and from suburbs including Cranbourne, Dandenong, Reservoir, Sunshine and Truganina, as well as the Geelong suburb of Norlane.

Police said the arrests were part of Operation Liege, which was focused on reducing youth offending across the state.

Those arrested have been charged with offences which included home invasion, affray, burglary, robbery, theft, vehicle crime, outstanding warrants and failing to appear at court, police said.

Victorian crime statistics released last month revealed the number of home invasions and carjackings had risen over the past year.

At the time, police said combatting those high-impact crimes was an “absolute priority”, and they had set up new teams in Melbourne’s outer suburbs to tackle the offending.

Police are expected to provide an update on the arrests later today.

-ABC