Police issued 40 tickets to “brass-necked” motorists parked illegally in the centre of Elgin within a matter of hours.
Officers fear that hundreds of offences are being carried out every day around certain parts of the town.
And they say they receive complaints about unlawful parking on a constant basis.
Addressing a meeting of Elgin Community Council, Sergeant Phil Wu laid bare the extent of the problems.
He explained that a crackdown was under way to tackle the issue head-on.
Sgt Wu said: “We have all seen various vehicles carrying out offences by parking where they shouldn’t be.
“We get two or three complaints every day regarding parking issues, so we are reforming our strategy.
“We are trying to work on education as well as enforcement.
“In one day we had two officers spend a couple of hours in Elgin and they ended up issuing 40 parking tickets.
“But on any given day, there could potentially be hundreds of tickets issued against motorists.”
Sgt Wu said officers would adopt a “proportionate” response, bearing in mind staff resources.
Community councillor, Gordon Methven, said he had recently observed drivers parking on pavements beside the St Giles Centre car park.
Mr Methven added: “You see these people avoiding paying by doing that, which can be a bit annoying as you go in and pay for a ticket yourself.”
Sgt Wu said he was aware of drivers flouting the law at the area in question.
He added: “The brass neck on some people is amazing, as they see what they can get away with.
“However, we only have a certain window of opportunity to catch them.”
Last year, Moray Council spent £60,000 on a scheme designed to alleviate parking problems in the centre of Elgin.
Transport officers created an online survey for locals to register their thoughts on the areas which required most urgent attention.
The review scrutinised the lack of available spaces in and around the town centre, and gauged car park usage levels.
Officers’ findings are expected to come before elected members this summer.
Elgin City South councillor, John Divers, said the police campaign only reinforced the need for action to be taken.