Police in Tayside have forked out nearly £27,000 to repair vandalised squad cars in the last three years.
Figures released in response to a Freedom of Information request revealed a total of 24 vandal attacks between 2016 and the end of 2018.
Six of the incidents happened while the cars were parked outside Tayside Division’s headquarters in West Bell Street in Dundee.
Together these incidents caused nearly £1,000 worth of damage.
The total repair bill for Police Scotland’s Tayside Division over the three years amounted to £26,917.88.
However, more than £20,000 of that cost is a result of damage inflicted on three squad cars during a single incident in Perth in 2017.
Danny Stewart brought the city centre of a standstill when he clambered onto the roof of his mother’s house in Stanley Crescent after splitting up with the mother of his three children in August that year.
He hurled chimney pots and roof slates at police officers, who were forced to shelter behind their vehicles.
He also damaged a number of other vehicles, including his own Transit van.
He was jailed for 20 months after admitting he breached the peace by climbing onto the roof shared by flats at numbers 13, 15 and 17 Stanley Crescent in Perth for several hours.
He admitted refusing to come down and repeatedly hurling chimney pots and slates at vehicles parked below and damaging them, while shouting and swearing.
Liam Kerr, Scottish Conservative shadow justice secretary, said taxpayers would be appalled at the extent of the damage to police vehicles.
He said: “People will be shocked to read about the extent of this problem.
“Police officers should be able to go about their business without fear that their vehicles will be vandalised.
“At a time when the force is struggling with budget cuts, this is money that would be far better spent tackling crime.”
Police Scotland Superintendent Richard Craig said: “Police vehicles are an important resource to enable our officers to provide a 24-hour service to our communities.
“Vandalism to police vehicles will not be tolerated. Every incident will be thoroughly investigated and where evidence exists the person or people responsible will be reported to the appropriate authority.
“High standards of maintenance are required of our vehicles and when damage is sustained every effort is made to ensure efficient repair and the least impact on service delivery.”
