Exmouth police now have greater flexibility over shift patterns in a bid to attend community meetings, the force has said.

Rigid shift patterns which prevented Exmouth police from attending meetings on their beat have been relaxed in a bid to better serve the community.

When the new shift patterns were introduced, many officers raised concerns over the lack of flexibility of their duty – which left some unable to attend PACT, council and community meetings.

Devon and Cornwall police said it had listened to officers’ concerns and adapted shifts to accommodate officers’ needs in the community.

A Devon and Cornwall police spokesman said: “Initially, the shift system was very rigid. However, there does now exist some flexibility for officers to change shifts on the days they are working in order to attend meetings.

“This can be done with guidance from the neighbourhood team leader.

“The only proviso is that an officer cannot change their rest days and cannot change their shift on a Friday or Saturday night as the policing of the night time economy is a priority.”