Councillor Laurie Bidwell has accused police in Dundee of failing to properly investigate less severe crimes.
The Broughty Ferry councillor said: “In the last couple of years the detection rates for these less severe crimes have been dropping.
“I’m pleased about the overall reductions in crime that have been reported, but the slipping of the clear-up rate is something we have to be careful about.”
A recent report shows that detection rates for less serious crimes between April and June this year dropped from the same time last year.
Detection rates for drug supply, production and cultivation dropped by almost a third (29.5%).
Mr Bidwell also said the drop in more severe crimes and crime overall causes people to take more notice of vandalism and petty crime.
“I think that if you live in a place that is very peaceful, where there is less crime overall, you have a different tolerance and threshold for lesser crimes, vandalism, and other things like that.”
In the report, Chief Superintendent Eddie Smith said: “Vandalism and malicious mischief levels have steadily dropped over the last five years.”
Detection rates for serious assault, robbery, petty (common) assault, domestic abuse as well as crimes of indecency and rape have all increased, while rates for all of those crimes (except robbery) have decreased meaning fewer crimes are committed, but more of them are successfully investigated.”
A Police Scotland spokeswoman said: “While there has been just over a 6% reduction in detection rates for vandalism and malicious mischief crimes in Dundee compared with last year, it is very encouraging that reports of these crimes have significantly reduced over the last five years by 30%.”