The Policing Board is to be briefed on Wednesday about the number of elderly people robbed in Northern Ireland.
The police have said extra resources will be put into tackling robberies of elderly people.
It comes after five pensioners were attacked and robbed in their homes within a five-hour period on Monday.
Assistant Chief Constable Judith Gillespie made the announcement at a public meeting of the Policing Board.
In one incident, two masked men sledgehammered their way into the Belfast Road home of a 68-year-old car dealer in Crumlin at about 2215 GMT.
She said the number of elderly victims had fallen in the Armagh, Mourne and Newry areas, but police would continue to work on reducing the numbers.
They threatened him at gunpoint and cleared his safe before abducting him and dumping him two miles away.
On Monday, five pensioners were attacked and robbed in their homes within a five-hour period.
A 74-year-old woman told how a gang of four men demanded money for drugs after breaking into her Ballinderry home.
Assistant Chief Constable Gillespie said she understood the figures would be of little comfort to elderly people in the Armagh, Mourne and Newry areas who had already been victims of crime.
They stole £1,500 worth of jewellery from the woman, who is a diabete. They also ransacked her Tansy Road home.
"But the overall figures are down and that should provide some reassurance," she said.
"They kept their pullovers over their mouths, one had a cap on," she said.
"We have targeted operations planned for the forthcoming weeks and months which will use those resources in addition to what the districts have."
"He had no pullover up and he was standing over there... I looked over and he said; 'Take your effing eyes off me, don't you dare look at me.'"
Policing Board vice chairman Barry Gilligan said board members were concerned about the "vile and horrendous attacks".
Police searching for the thieves in Ballinderry say they want people to contact them about an old style green Rover 600 car which was seen in the area around the time of the robbery which took place at about 1700 GMT.
"However, this is not just a policing issue - the community as a whole have a part to play in ensuring that they report anything they think is relevant to the police," he said.
A short time later, four men forced their way into the home of a 91-year-old woman at Glenavy Road, Crumlin. They took money and jewellery.
"Our social responsibility to our neighbours - particularly those who are vulnerable - is all the more poignant at Christmas time and we want to see the perpetrators caught and prevented from carrying out such attacks."
An 86-year-old man was robbed when two men entered his house on Leesonstow Road in Crumlin at about 1830 BST on Monday.
Attacks
The victim was pushed onto the sofa and his wallet was taken from him. He said the robbers were smartly dressed.
Three of the attacks on Monday were in Crumlin in County Antrim and another in nearby Ballinderry.
There can be no doubt that this gang will attack more elderly people unless they are stopped and put away where they belong Patricia LewsleySDLP
The fifth happened in Glengormley, also in County Antrim.
Earlier in Glengormley, four youths took an 81-year-old man's Christmas money.
The five victims were aged from 68 to 91.
The four young men broke into the back of his home at about 1830 GMT.
They ransacked the home and made off with his money.
In all cases, the robbers' victims were left badly shaken. The 74-year-old woman was bruised to her wrists after she grabbed during the robbery.
Police are investigating a possible link between the robberies in Ballinderry and Lisburn.
The gang who broke into the house in Ballinderry wore jumpers pulled up to cover their faces and may have had southern accents.
Fear
June Mallon, from the Newtownabbey Senior Citizens Forum, called for help so that elderly people could live without fear.
"There isn't anything there to stop them doing it," she said.
"There is no fear. The rights are all on the side of the law breaker. We have no rights. We have no right to live without fear."
Patricia Lewsley, SDLP, said: "Anyone who can shed any light on this horrific attack must go to the police now.
"For there can be no doubt that this gang will attack more elderly people unless they are stopped and put away where they belong."
Last week, two sisters in their 80s were robbed in their south Belfast home by a four-strong gang, two of whom were armed with screwdrivers.
In a separate incident, an 84-year-old man was beaten and robbed at his house near Newry.
