Alleged offenders are being warned police could be "anywhere at anytime" and, in some cases, in plain clothes.
Since 6am today, more than 80 police officers in Waitakere, Rodney and the North Shore areas have visited and arrested people with outstanding warrants to arrest.
Police said 35 people were arrested for a variety of offences, and would be appearing in courts across the Waitemata district this afternoon.
The transient nature of many people who had a warrant for their arrest meant sometimes police were unable to find the person straight away, Inspector Claire Humble said.
"Over the past few weeks we've been looking closely at those who have warrants for their arrest, and making enquiries into where they are."
She said the operation is the first of several new initiatives aimed at disrupting criminal activity and preventing further offending.
Ms Humble warned alleged offenders that police could be "anywhere at anytime".
"We've had staff making enquiries in plain clothes and uniform, and though we're not going to show our hand and say exactly what we're doing, what we can say is you can expect to be stopped anywhere, at anytime," Ms Humble said.
Another police initiative focused on crimes that occurred, or were helped, by the use of the car.
An extra 15 police officers spent the day serving driver licence suspension notices to people who had exceeded their demerit points, Ms Humble said.