A number of towns across the north-east could be getting pinpointed by joyriders and thieves due to their “perceived wealth”.
And what worries Kincardine and Mearns area Inspector, Finn McPhail, is the number of car thefts and housebreakings not being carried out by organised criminals, but by people travelling from outside the area to steal fast cars.
She said towns such as a Portlethen and Stonehaven could be “perceived now as potentially wealthy areas”.
The officer added: “There is a lot of nice cars near to doors that will probably be open and are unfortunately always found to be open.
“I think that all across Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire divisions it is a common theme that the vehicles that are taken are for whatever reason are high-end and performance vehicles, specifically targeted.
“I am assuming that is because the individuals taking the vehicles want to drive them and because they might fancy their chances going faster in a vehicle or a faster or more high-end vehicle.”
She added: “Certainly many of the individuals involved are not local to this area but are coming to this area to commit these crimes.”
Crime reduction officer for Aberdeenshire, Kevin Marron, said the answer was simple – lock your doors and hide valuables in your car from view.
He added: “We’re trying to encourage people to take basic precautions, we’re hoping this is going to make a difference.
“Because Aberdeenshire is a low crime area, people feel secure and feel that they can leave their houses, their properties, their vehicles unattended.
“An area like Portlethen, thieves can target these areas and try a lot of cars and houses in short period of time. What we are trying to fight against is complacency.
“We want people to take precautions and make Aberdeenshire a hostile environment for criminal activity.”