A new police campaign urging Aberdeen residents to lock up their sheds was launched in the city yesterday.
Despite a decrease in property break-ins so far in 2014, figures show that shed break-ins have risen in the city this year.
Aberdeen Community Safety Partnership granted Police Scotland £5,000 to go towards tackling the issue in hot-spot areas in the city.
The money has gone towards the provision of 1000 shed security packs, available on a “first come first serve” basis for residents in affected areas.
The highest number of shed thefts has taken place in Aberdeen’s Northfield, Seaton, Kittybrewster, Bucksburn and West End areas.
The security packs feature a shed alarm, a security marker pen, a sticker advertising that the shed is alarmed and security advice leaflets.
Yesterday, detective inspector Stewart Mackie, said: “Sheds are getting broken into quite easily. Shed’s perhaps are easier to break into because people tend to put cheap or a very basic lock on their sheds and sometimes there’s valuable items in there.
“We’re trying to encourage people – if they have high-value items in their sheds – to invest a bit of their money into making sure that their shed is secure and to prevent crimes.
“If they stay in these areas they will get it free of charge.”
Police figures show that bicycles are the most commonly stolen item from garden sheds, accounting for 46% of all overall shed thefts, along with power tools, golf clubs and gardening equipment.
Mr Mackie added that many items could be resold online or through second-hand dealers.
He said: “We’re asking people – if they’ve got bicycles – to mark it with their contact details, their postcode and street name underneath to try and prevent that, and if they’ve got a bike in a shed, try and get a ground anchor that is not easily removed.
“We’ll also be carrying out direct patrols in areas where intelligence suggests crimes are taking place.”
He is also urging all city residents to be more vigilant outwith the most heavily affected areas.
Mr Mackie said: “When putting stuff in your sheds, take some steps to make it secure to deter criminals in the first place.
“We’re asking people to be more vigilant, to put in place basic security measures themselves.”