Police were stationed outside betting shops in Inverness a week after a bookmakers was robbed by a gunman who has not yet been caught.
Uniformed officers were out in force in the city at the weekend to provide extra reassurance to residents following the robbery.
They patrolled the city, covering all betting shops, at the start and the end of trading.
The move was a reaction to the armed robbery of the Paddy Power bookmakers on the Queensgate last Sunday morning with the thief making off with a five-figure sum, thought to be around £12,000.
The force was also concerned that the betting shops could have amassed bumper takings due to the Grand National horse race on Saturday. A police spokesman said: “We used high-visibility foot patrols at the start and end of the day’s trading to provide public reassurance because of recent events.”
He said inquiries into the robbery were ongoing.
He said the patrols were due to the Grand National and the Paddy Power robbery.
The robber walked into the shop shortly after it opened at 9.30am on March 31 and told a member of staff he had a gun.
He left with the cash and then walked off down Post Office Lane before crossing the River Ness on the Greig Street footbridge.
He changed his clothes twice as he made off with the money.
A 16-strong inquiry team including officers drafted in from Aberdeen and Dundee have been trying to track him down. Police last week released CCTV images of the suspect captured before and after the robbery in the hope of uncovering vital information.
The suspect is described as about 6ft and of average build.
He was initially wearing a distinctive light-blue hooded top with an Adidas logo on the left-hand side of the hood, underneath a black waist-length top with two light-coloured lines on each cuff and waistband.
He was also wearing a black balaclava, black cargo-style trousers and black shoes.
After the robbery, he then changed into a red-and-black checked hooded top with a white fleece lining, a black fleece-lined hat with ear flaps and black trainers with white soles.
He is believed to have then changed under Friars Bridge into a dark T-shirt and black jeans and removed his hat.
Anyone with information about the robbery is asked to call police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.