As we say goodbye to 2023, there’s a lot to look back on and see! 2023 presented many challenges for public safety professionals, who rose to the occasion and demonstrated resilience all along the way. Between widespread staffing shortages exacerbated by low morale and recruitment and retention issues, challenges achieving community engagement, and the persistent wellness issues that plague the industry, first responders have had a lot on their plates. Lexipol was privileged to play a small part in the efforts to address these issues with solutions, services and support.
As public safety professionals demonstrate a never-ending dedication to service, Lexipol has worked to make that job as simple as possible. We’ve continued to focus on providing the highest level of customer service and the highest quality solutions to streamline responsibilities and allow public safety professionals to focus on the core mission of their job.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at all that 2023 had in store as we get ready for the start of 2024:
2023 By the Numbers
2023 saw Lexipol continuing to do what we do best: supporting public safety agencies with services designed specifically for their needs. Let’s start with a high-level recap of what we did here at Lexipol. This year:
- Our policy team reviewed over 11,000 federal and state legislation and executive orders and issued more than 900 legislative policy updates to our customers
- Our online learning academies released 94 new courses
- Our grants team helped secure $140 million in grant funding for public safety agencies, completing over 300 custom grant projects
- Our wellness solution, Cordico, introduced over 250 new content sections, including more than 90 videos, on topics ranging from financial wellness and retirement preparation to mindfulness, leadership and resilience
- And our industry news sites published a whopping 8,500+ articles, including news and analysis, research and editorial content, averaging over 2.7 million readers each month
In 2023, Lexipol hosted our fourth annual Connect user group conference, featuring 18 new live sessions including legal updates for law enforcement, fire/EMS and corrections; expert roundtables covering recruitment, leadership, community engagement and more; and keynotes from Gordon Graham and actor and volunteer firefighter Bobby Burke. Thousands of public safety professionals gathered virtually for a day packed with learning, networking and sharing. Our Connect conference continues to grow and improve with each passing year—we can’t wait to see what the future holds!
We also saw the third class of Connect Recognition Program recipients in 2023. Agencies that excelled at implementing, disseminating, acknowledging and training on policies in 2022 were recognized for their diligence and hard work at policy maintenance and management. Over 1,500 agencies across the country received gold, silver or bronze recognition—an 11% increase over 2022! We also launched the Connect Recognition Program for our online learning customers, with over 1,100 agencies recognized. We can’t wait to see the agencies who will continue to excel and join the list next year!
Lexipol is proud to play a small role in the incredible work that public safety professionals do every day.
In 2023, Lexipol was recognized across several award programs for innovation, excellence in technology and editorial content, and impact on the public safety industry.
- Lexipol Media Group’s editorial team was recognized for excellence across award programs:
- FireRescue1 was honored in the IAFF Media Awards for Best News Story/Feature.
- At the ASBPE Azbee Awards, EMS1 won the Bronze Award for Online State of the Industry Report (Central region) for the 2022 “What Paramedics Want” report.
- EMS1 received the award for Best Website at the Jesse H. Neal Awards.
- At the Eddie & Ozzie Awards, Lexipol Media Group won Editorial Team of the Year, in addition to Best Planned/On Location Coverage (Police1) and Best Supplemental, Annual or One Shot (FireRescue1).
- Lexipol Media Group content also made the finalist lists in numerous other categories across the Eddie & Ozzie Awards and the Jesse H. Neal Awards.
- Lexipol’s solutions were recognized in numerous awards for innovation:
- Our Cordico wellness solution was honored in the SaaS Appealie Awards for Best Vertical Solution.
- Lexipol’s comprehensive suite of solutions was recognized in the BIG Innovation Awards.
- Lexipol’s policy management solution was named finalist for Best Compliance Solution in the SIIA CODiE Awards.
- And our company overall was recognized, including:
- Being named to the Gov Tech 100 list.
- Winning a Gold Company of the Year Award from the Stevie Awards’ International Business Awards
- Making the finalist list for Company of the Year in the BIG Awards for Business.
- And being named a finalist for Best Customer Success team in the SIIA CODiE Awards.
New(s) & Noteworthy
But wait, there’s more! In 2023, Lexipol continued to expand and build on our solutions. First, in the area of wellness: We acquired the National Emergency Responder & Public Safety Center (NERPSC), adding both clinician and peer support training and certification to our Cordico wellness solution. Additionally, we launched an updated version of the Cordcio wellness app, complete with an updated user interface and new features, including the ability to share custom content or contacts between agencies. But wellness wasn’t the only area taking strides. We also expanded our law enforcement accreditation services—now we support accreditation efforts in 16 states, with more on the way in 2024.
This year, Lexipol also launched the first annual First Responder Wellness Week, a week dedicated to the education and equipping of first responders to support their holistic wellness. In 2023, each day of the week was dedicated to a different area of wellness, spanning from fitness and nutrition to sleep hygiene to mental health. Agencies and first responders across the country participated in the daily live events and challenges to push wellness forward.
We also launched some exciting new partnerships this year to continue creating top-of-the-line solutions and getting them into the hands of those that need them. We partnered with
- Axon to develop the first TASER 10 compliant policies, offering sample policies to all law enforcement agencies for free.
- Echelon Front to provide “Extreme Ownership” leadership courses designed for public safety professionals of all ranks.
- Dallas Cowboys Quarterback Dak Prescott’s Faith Fight Finish foundation to provide free community engagement training to law enforcement agencies across the country.
- The Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC) to provide Lexipol’s Cordico wellness app to all member agencies in the state of Washington.
In other news, Lexipol Media Group (LMG) relaunched the Police1, FireRescue1, EMS1 and Corrections1 news sites, which feature an updated design and site structure to improve navigation and access to site content. LMG continued to set the standard for public safety media, with everything from news coverage to editorial articles and profiles to webinars and podcasts. Police1, FireRescue1 and EMS1 also released their annual state of the industry reports, based on the survey of over 9,000 first responders collectively: What Cops Want, What Firefighters Want and What Paramedics Want.
Finally, Lexipol celebrated a BIG milestone in 2023: our 20th anniversary! This year, we celebrated under the banner of “Empowering Public Safety,” and focused on the dedication of our customers and partners in serving and protecting their communities.
Much More in 2024
2023 was filled to the brim with innovation, growth and the resilience of first responders ever on display. We are grateful for the continued opportunity to serve public safety agencies, first responders and communities across the country with solutions that simplify key responsibilities and improve safety and professionalism. Lexipol is proud to play a small role in the incredible work that public safety professionals do every day. We can’t wait to see what the future holds in 2024 and beyond!
