A north councillor has called for communities and the police to band together to help catch criminals targeting Highland towns.
Vandals attacked Muir of Ord community pavilion at the weekend, smashing a window to get inside. They then let off fire extinguishers, spraying the contents over the floors and walls.
It is believed that the culprits are local youngsters.
During the previous week, thieves stole high value electrical equipment from vans in the village as well as in Conon Bridge and Dingwall.
Dingwall and Seaforth councillor Alister Mackinnon yesterday raised concerns that the change to a single Scottish force had left officers stretched too thinly and unable to carry out effective community policing.
He has arranged to meet local officers in Dingwall to call for a greater police presence in the area.
“There have been mindless acts of vandalism over the past few months caused by a very, very small minority of youngsters in Muir of Ord who are sadly still in school,” he said.
“Given what’s going on, we have to have a greater police presence in the area to see if we can nip this blight in the bud. It’s very difficult for the police to get evidence so I would urge the community to work together with the police.”
He said he would raise the issue of thieves targeting vans with electrical equipment and tools.
“It is somewhat alarming that this is happening in the middle of the night outside people’s homes and nobody has seen or heard anything,” he said.
“They have been targeting vehicles with expensive electrical tools inside which would infer that they have been watching these vehicles and know which ones to hit. We need, as a community, to work together to be more vigilant and be more connected to help tackle this.”
He added: “Since the introduction of Police Scotland, resources have been stretched to the absolute max. Maybe this is one of the failings of Police Scotland, that there doesn’t seem to be the time for the community policing that I firmly believe would eradicate these problems.”
A Police Scotland spokesman said there had been no reduction in officer numbers in the area.
He added: “Police carry out regular anti-crime patrols across Ross and Cromarty along with regular operations where officers are deployed to address various issues including alcohol abuse, vandalism, anti-social behaviour and road safety. There will always be isolated incidents but, in general terms, crime is down significantly across the Dingwall and Seaforth ward.”