Police have made a pledge to track down criminals blighting communities in Moray.
Officers insist they are not going to relent despite crime in the region now being at its lowest level for five years.
Yesterday, the latest statistics from April to December last year in Moray were presented to the council’s police and fire and rescue services committee.
The figures revealed housebreakings were down by more than a third to 111 during the last five years, vandalism had dropped by 19% to 472 and thefts had fallen from nearly 400 to 252. However, assaults and serious assaults are on the increase.
Chief Superintendent Campbell Thomson, divisional commander for the north-east, said: “My message to those individuals who choose to disrupt our communities is clear – your actions will not be tolerated and we will use every tactic available to us to identify you, trace you and bring you to court.
“North East Division will continue to robustly target serious organised crime groups which operate in our communities to ensure Moray remains a hostile environment for them to operate.
“These groups are predominantly English-based and not local to the area, so therefore don’t care about the impact they have.”
Committee vice-chairman James Allan praised the work done by police to clamp down on drugs rings.
Nearly £79,000 was seized from dealers last year – compared to under £20,000 in 2015.
Ch Supt Thomson stressed that, despite the efforts of some criminals, Moray remained one of the safest places to live and work in Scotland.
He added: “While I welcome these encouraging figures, there is no room for complacency. Less crime means fewer victims, which means safer communities.”