Police have lauded the success of a pilot scheme which has put more bobbies on the beat and led to a crackdown on shoplifters.
Aberdeen city centre’s “problem solving team” was formed in March and relies on time-honoured tactics, with officers keeping a watchful eye over the area on foot and bicycle.
The six-month scheme is due to finish in September, but as it nears its halfway point officers are optimistic that it could be continued.
This week, the team caught a man who had stolen about £200 worth of meat during a spree across several stores on Union Street.
And one of the officers involved said their work had resulted in hefty sentences recently being imposed on certain serial offenders.
Constable Rebecca Shaw elaborated on the work of the four-strong unit during a meeting of the city centre’s community council.
Constable Shaw said: “We are old fashioned beat bobbies, we don’t get sent to divisional calls, we are out and about walking or on bikes.
“We try to tackle anti-social behaviour in the city and are each allocated a shopping centre to look after.
“We have got some good results through being in the right place at the right time, with a couple of shoplifters recently being given lengthy sentences.
“On Wednesday we caught one man with about £200 worth of meat products taken from shops on Union Street.
“But we still receive a lot of complaints about drug misuse, and we want to target what is causing the most issues.
“This programme is something that hasn’t been done for a while, and we are hoping it will continue after September.”
Midstocket and Rosemount councillor, Bill Cormie, praised the scheme but warned that troubling times could be ahead with the recent introduction of minimum pricing on alcohol.
He said: “I would think that will create a spike in shoplifting, but people will be reassured by seeing these police officers on the beat and creating a deterrent.”
City Centre Inspector, Simon Reid, said: “So far the team has had a very positive reaction from the public, and has already recorded positive results.
“Twenty-seven street drinking offences have been detected as well as 12 offences connected with the possession of controlled drugs.”
Similar “old school” drives have been launched across other parts of the north-east in an effort to stamp out antisocial behaviour in popular areas.
The police launched an initiative aimed at driving nuisance behaviour and shop-related crime out of the centre of Peterhead last September.
The move followed years of complaints about the force showing a lack of presence in the town, and a report found that it and Fraserburgh suffered more from antisocial behaviour than other parts of the region.
Local inspector, George Cordiner, outlined his hopes that the two new beat cops would make the town a “hostile place” for criminals, yet welcoming for young families and shoppers.
Last summer, Elgin’s community policing team appointed a new member charged with the sole directive of tackling crime in the town.
Constable Jad Leach was also tasked with nurturing probationers and introducing them to the type of wrongdoing that can often occur in the centre.
