Police in the north-east have paid more than £12,000 for vehicle repairs following prangs in car parks in the past three years.
Figures released after freedom of information requests revealed officers were involved in 69 crashes in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire between May 2011 and January 2014.
The most expensive bill came in January after the offside of a car was damaged on an access ramp leading to an underground garage at Nelson Street police station in Aberdeen.
Over the three years, the total cost of repairs came to £12,457.
The figure relates to just 24 of the 69 crashes.
In the remaining 45 cases, the incident was logged as no cost – either because the repair bill had not been finalised or because the damage was not considered worth fixing.
Scottish Conservative justice spokeswoman Margaret Mitchell said: “Considering the police are responsible for enforcing road traffic law, this is an alarming statistic.
“This carelessness is costing the taxpayer thousands of pounds.
“An organisation seeking to save money should by trying to cut this kind of thing out.”
Robert Oxley, of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “Accidents do happen but crashing in the station car park will look like incompetence to many.
“Repairs not only cost taxpayers money, they also take vehicles off the road that should be being used to chasing down criminals. A bit more care behind the wheel will save taxpayers the bill and officers blushes in the process.”
Aberdeen councillor Martin Greig, the former convener of Grampian Joint Police Board, said the figures should be viewed in context.
“The locations of police access are often very cramped with limited visibility and poor layouts.
“Many vehicles are specialised and will require extra training to manoeuvre.
“The police force should ensure that officers are aware of the need for extra care as models of road safety and good standards.”
A Police Scotland spokesman said the vast majority of incidents were “very minor” and incurred no cost.
“Further incidents involved damage caused by other parties, such as officers returning to vehicles to find windows broken or bodywork damaged.
“Only a very small number of incidents involved costs in an area with more than 30 police car parks, over 200 police vehicles and more than 1,000 drivers who are trained to the highest standards.
“These incidents are always reviewed to identify any possible learning issues.”