Young offenders believed to be 'looking for notoriety' when committing crimes

Speaking on Monday, Western Region Commander Assistant Commissioner Rod Smith provided an update on Operation Regional Mongoose which is aimed at young offenders, some of whom often use social media to boast about their crimes.

It's been an issue NSW Police have addressed in the past and Assistant Commissioner Smith said it is still ongoing.

"We are aware the issues around social media and drug use are the underlying drivers of this," he said.

"It's not lost on us, we will continue to target drug supply, drug use and the use of social media which is how these young kids who are looking for notoriety are almost daring each other.

"It's a challenging one but we are more than determined to deal with it."

Member for Dubbo Dugald Saunders believes the current government could be doing more.

"It's clear the government's new 'post and boast' laws have been rushed and don't go far enough when it comes to the social media trends around regional crime," he said.

"The narrow scope of the legislation means only two specific offences will be covered, while other crimes like violent assaults won't be dealt with.

"The laws also won't apply to co-conspirators, which could encourage troubled youths to get their friends involved.

"The clear gaps in Labor's proposal are concerning and need to be addressed to ensure we can keep our communities safe."

In February 2023, Mr Saunders acknowledged TikTok and other social media platforms were mediums for offenders to try and one-up each other.

Assistant Commissioner Smith says Operation Regional Mongoose will continue and outlined how they will judge their triumphs after six months of targeting offenders.

"We measure success in the decrease of the number of crimes and offences committed," he said.

"That's ultimately what we are there to do reducing crime, fear and violence within the community.

"We will continue to monitor these events and our success will be a reduction in those events."