The detention of someone for stealing a 38p packet of biscuits was used by police officers to highlight concerns about arrest “league tables.”

An officer with the South Kent force – which covers this area – told a Kent Police Federation meeting he had been sent in the early hours to carry out the arrest.

After the federation meeting, Kent’s deputy chief constable Adrian Leppard said arrest figures would not count towards personal or team performance targets.

His intervention was welcomed by the chairman of the federation, which represents rank and file police officers.

Ian Pointon said: “This is good news. Officers must be allowed to use their judgment.

“This officer was sent in the early hours to make an arrest for the theft of biscuits.

“It was part of the culture that officers had targets for arrests and the number they made.”

Mr Pointon said when it was “right and proper”, people should be arrested.

“We should be concentrating on the quality of arrests, not the quantity,” he went on.

“Arrests take officers off the streets. We have to make sure that the time officers are on duty is used efficiently.

“I do not think it is efficient to drag people into custody when they should not be there.”

Mr Leppard said senior management in the force had been issued guidance from Chief Constable Mike Fuller that the “league table” approach to arrests must stop.

“Arrest figures will not count towards personal or team performance targets,” he said.

“The rate of performance improvement in terms of crime reduction has been a credit to all officers who are routinely making the right judgments concerning arrests.”

Mr Leppard said that unnecessary activity which produced inefficient outcomes should be stopped.

He added: “I expect officers to do their duty, and not to shy away from doing the right thing and to arrest offenders when it is appropriate.

“There are many occasions when targeted police response will result in people being arrested and that will not change.”

It is understood that the biscuits arrest was in Dover and that Mr Fuller is now looking into the circumstances.