A NEW police operation has sparked mixed reactions within the Bendigo community.

The Bendigo Advertiser reported online on Friday, and in Saturday's paper, the new initiative will see Bendigo Police knocking on doors in the early hours of the morning.

Acting Superintendent Ryan Irwin said police would be patrolling the streets late at night, looking for unlocked cars, in the coming weeks.

"Where we find cars that are unlocked, we're going to go and knock on the door, if it's easily identified that a car belongs to a house, and we're going to tell the people that their car has been left unlocked," he said.

"So the message we want to get out is be prepared for a knock on your door at 1am or 2am because it might be the cops telling you that you've left your car unlocked."

People have shared their views about the move on the Bendigo Advertiser's Facebook page.

"What a fantastic idea," Becka Hitchens posted on Facebook.

"All you guys having a whinge about it pull your heads in, the amount of police resources that are wasted because of people's laziness in ensuring their possessions are secured is ridiculous.

"Personally, I think a fine handed to those with the door knock would be even better."

But not everyone agreed with the idea.

"Really?," Rina China wrote.

"Apart from the complete stupidity, what a massive waste of police resources."