A concerted campaign by Levenmouth police has cut an “endemic” shoplifting problem in the area by 40%.
Officers found the majority of the thefts were down to just 10 people desperate to feed a drug addiction.
Shop staff who challenged them were often threatened or assaulted, police said.
A review found shoplifting was the most common dishonesty crime in Levenmouth and tactics were introduced in a bid to foil those responsible.
New figures show that between April and July last year there were 120 thefts by shoplifting.
During the same period this year, the number had fallen to 53, a drop of 55.8% — although the reduction is 40% over the course of the entire year.
Chief Inspector Adrian Annandale said: “This type of crime was endemic in the area and also posed a threat to shop staff in the retail trade as they were often threatened in the process or assaulted when challenging acts of criminality.
“A proactive campaign was developed and introduced whereby shoplifting was identified as a priority crime.
“Tactics and interventions were introduced to improve prevention, detection and intelligence gathering.”
Mr Annandale said items stolen often included food and were usually of high value so they could be sold on.
He added that frequent offenders were identified, prioritised and taken into custody.
“This enabled swift entry into the criminal justice system and preventative measures relating to bail and bail curfew were managed and enforced,” he added.
A report to councillors on Levenmouth area committee revealed that frequent offenders were managed and jailed.
Two officers have also been deployed in Leven town centre to target shoplifters and provide reassurance to shopkeepers.
Mr Annandale said: “The public welcome proactive policing and they recognise its intention is to keep communities safe.”
The detection rate for shoplifting in the three months to July this year was just over 90%.
Crimes of violence and housebreakings in Levenmouth have also reduced slightly over the same period.
