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Officers in Britain's biggest police force face disciplinary action unless they stop and search at least 15 people a month, it has been claimed.

The Met also orders officers to arrest eight people a month, which has raised fears some officers may let other "things go" in pursuit of hitting their targets.

Yesterday one police source said: "If the public knew the police service had to arrest by numbers rather than crimes there would be a national outcry."

Stop and search is one of the most controversial powers in policing, with people from a black or minority ethnic background seven times more likely to be stopped than white people.

Britain's top cop, Bernard Hogan-Howe, recently claimed stop and search was only used where officers have "intelligence".

But our insider provided evidence that indicated Met officers are being told they have to use the power at least 15 times a month or face disciplinary action.

He said that officers were told to stop and search people at incidents they were called to to keep up their numbers.

The source added: "Targets are set and expected to be obtained with the threat of management action should you not achieve them. The main one is stopand search."

Traffic cops have been told they have to arrest eight drink drivers a year and issue 180 fixed penalty notices for speeding or using mobile phones while driving.

One officer failing to reach his targets was told that every shift he had to "take a laser out and spend at least one hour on this task during the day".

Another source said: "People are discouraged to deal with anything other than offences that count towards our targets."

In one example a PC investigated an allegation of "using a kettle without permis-sion" in a flat with a communal kitchen so it could be counted as a "clear up". But a team of burglars were allowed "free reign" for two years as no borough wanted to link the crimes, the source claimed.

The Sunday Mirror has seen dozens of documents that confirm the targets but Scotland Yard last night denied forcing officers to arrest or stop and searcha minimum number of people.

A spokesman said: "The Metropolitan Police Service has no policy of setting individual targets for stop and search or for arrests. Our intelligence-led approach has resulted in significant reductions in the volumes of stop and search and in increased arrest rates."

But Chief Supt Glyn Jones, head of Traffic Command, confirmed there are targets for his officers. He said: "An average figure per officer of 180 Think campaign offences a year and the prosecution of eight drink/ drug drivers a year is set as a benchmark."

Labour's Shadow Police Minister Jack Dromey said: "These reports of a targets-driven culture are most concerning, as is the news that officers are subject to 'corrective duties' if they fail to hit the targets."