Lead by Debbie Thornton, the group has called on residents to sign a petition to get an extra 14 police officers in Orange to patrol the streets and arrest those responsible for torching the cars.

“This is just the initial step. If we can get more police here we’ll be closer to tackling the problem, but it’s a bigger issue,” she said.

In the past two months, 27 cars have been burned in Orange and 13 have been torched in the first 31 days of this year alone.

Ms Thornton said the identities of those who are responsible for setting the cars alight are well known among members of her community.

She said it’s believed it’s a mix of children and adults working together.

“These kids think there’s nothing else because it’s all they’ve been taught,” Ms Thornton said.

She said the young people are desperate for jobs but they are being rejected by businesses because of the reputations of their families.

“We need the community in Orange to give these kids a crack.”

A proposal has been put forward by the group to introduce a program for disadvantaged young people to provide 40 days of 40 challenges – including race car driving and skydiving – to provide them with a positive way to seek adrenaline.

The group want to host a concert on Glenroi Oval to help “break the divide in Glenroi” and create a register of houses in the area which have camera surveillance to act as a deterrent against street crime.

Country Labor candidate for Orange Luke Sanger said the proposal for more police in Orange had his personal backing but five more per year was more realistic.

He said he would like to see the PCYC play a bigger role in providing entertainment for young people as well as the introduction of another Auskick program in Glenroi. 

“Auskick is renowned for helping troubled youth – some of the greatest AFL players of all time have come from disadvantaged backgrounds,” he said.