A FORMER senior detective has criticised Police Scotland over its handling of a housebreaking "epidemic" in Edinburgh, claiming too many alleged criminals are being freed to re-offend.

Ex-Lothian and Borders Police serious crime squad detective inspector Harry McAdam used a packed public meeting to accuse senior officers of taking a "softly softly" approach on detaining young people allegedly involved in many of the crimes.

Police Scotland, however, said it had responded to the crimewave with dedicated teams of officers using helicopter back-up which has to date resulted in 106 arrests and 304 charges brought in six weeks.

Mr McAdam spoke out after his home in the Newington area of the city was targeted twice in two months, the second time while he and his family slept.

He claimed too many alleged offenders were being released after arrest and not being remanded in custody. Police said each case is decided individually on merit.

Mr McAdam said: "They know how the system works and know that they will be out and carry on as before. In a lot of cases it is juveniles.

"The key question is how many have been detained for longer than 24 hours. They know they'll be in at 1pm and out at 2pm.

"I heard a noise at 5am last Thursday and went down and there were two of them (raiders) in ski masks.

"They knew we were in and they were coming in. And they're not going to ask for keys to the car, they are going to stick a knife in your face.

"They didn't even run away, they just walked away."

In the first break-in, Mr McAdam believes he disturbed the raiders as they had only been in one room but they managed to snatch £15,000 worth of jewellery.

He said: "I spent £1,500 on an alarm after the first break-in.

"My wife is terrified."

He said that he felt compelled to speak out after the second incident.

The father-of-two received a huge round of applause from other victims and worried residents gathered in the south side church on Wednesday night.

He added: "We should not have to be buying alarms, the police have a duty to protect people and property.

"All it will take is someone to disturb them at the wrong time and it will end in murder."

Superintendent Matt Richards said more than 180 people had attended Wednesday night's meeting in Mayfield and overall feedback was "very positive".

He said: "Officers in Edinburgh remain committed to identifying those that break in to houses and vehicles.

"Crimes of this nature are a top priority for the division and the continued impact of Operation RAC is evident as arrests increase and housebreakings start to reduce.

"All adults charged with housebreaking are referred to court on petition, demonstrating the severity with which these crimes are treated.

"When an under-16 is apprehended for an offence, each case is judged on its merit and tested against the necessary legislation, including the Lord Advocates Guidelines."

He added: "The proportionate and appropriate course of action for that child is decided, often by more relevant partner agencies, but always with consideration to public safety.

"A child can be kept in custody for a grave offence, and there have been cases recently where under-16s have been detained following housebreakings.

"Between March 26 and April 23, officers made 62 arrests for domestic housebreaking in the capital, which resulted in 245 charges.

"In this time, there were also 44 arrests for thefts of motor vehicles in Edinburgh, and 59 charges were brought."