Operation Embrace will ramp up policing on Chapel St in Prahran, one of Melbourne's busiest retail and nightlife strips, Victoria police said on Tuesday.
The blitz comes as the state grapples with rising crime rates, which prompted the Allan Labor government to tighten bail laws in 2025, with a focus on serious youth offenders.
Police said in a statement that Operation Embrace would include 24-hour patrols from the public order response team, police dogs, police on horseback, and uniformed officers.
Highway patrol cars and police on bikes would also be deployed as part of the clampdown.
Robberies of supermarkets, liquor stores and clothing shops would be targeted as well as drug offences and anti-social behaviour near nightspots, police said.
Police Acting Assistant Commissioner Damian Jackson said retail theft, drug issues, and poor behaviour around Chapel St's nightclubs would be met with a "show of force" by authorities.
"Last year, our officers arrested more than 450 people in relation to these issues alone," Mr Jackson said.
"Victoria Police is currently deploying police in large numbers to areas where we want to send a very clear message to criminals."
The action follows Operation Harmony earlier in 2026. It involved a massive deployment of police resources onto the streets of Melbourne's CBD to fight petty crime.
