A new scheme that will see minor crimes in the north-east go uninvestigated will be disastrous, according to a senior police representative.
The new scheme will be run exclusively in the region, with officers not even attending minor crimes.
Police Scotland said it wants officers to have more time to focus on responding to emergencies and keeping people safe.
To do that, incidents like garden thefts where there is no CCTV or eyewitness evidence might be avoided.
Scottish Police Federation (SPF) General Secretary David Kennedy said the situation is “bleak”.
He warned pressures on the service already meant some calls received either a delayed response or none at all.
Mr Kennedy, who represents rank and file officers, told a meeting at the SNP conference in Aberdeen that the experiment would be “disastrous”.
He highlighted incidents which may at first seem to be minor only for officers to discover more serious crimes.
He told the crowd: “When I was a cop a call came in at 11am saying an alarm was going off.
“I went on my own to the house. The back door was broken open and I realised the house was being broken into.
Police Scotland faces ‘bleak’ situation
“That’s a call that looks very simple. Police attend calls thinking it will be one thing but it’s entirely different.
”We need police to be going to calls because they can pick up on other things.”
Mr Kennedy also told SNP members about the “bleak” situation Police Scotland faced as it seeks to reduce officer numbers by about 1,500.
The force says it will have to make “hard choices” in order to continue providing an effective service.
This includes a pause to all training so officers can be redirected to support operational colleagues over the busy festive period.
They have also postponed the planned intake of around 200 probationary constables who were due to join the Service on 8 January 2024.
Mr Kennedy says he expects the reduction to be achieved by the recruit pause and the loss of around 60 officers who retire each month.