Devon and Cornwall police have welcomed the chance to work with Exeter University to develop best policing practice and become more efficient.
A joint research project is being financed with nearly 250 thousand pounds from the Police Knowledge Fund.
Similar projects have been carried out to identify new ways of working in the NHS.
All areas of policing will be looked at to see if they can be done differently - but one of the first will be issues relating to safeguarding the public, which accounts for a large proportion of police work.
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