The Parsons Police Department has achieved, for the second year in a row, the Lexipol Connect Gold Award. This award is given to agencies who maintain and train on police policies and procedures, which is critical to ensure that agencies achieve national benchmarks. The department has to ensure that over 80% of agency staff complete daily training bulletins (DTB) and testing and that each user is actively training on the policy content throughout the year, as well as staying up to date on all new policy content that is added.

Lexipol initiated this award in 2020 and there are three levels. There is bronze, silver, and gold awards depending on the level of interaction and training of the department. This means that users and policy makers have to update material in their policy manual as it is released.

Lieutenant Jason Ludwig said, "the constant changes in case laws, along with state and federal statutes change how we enforce laws. These changes have to be reflected in our agency's policy manual for officers to train on the information. This ensures that officers know what is or is not in our policy to help their decision-making abilities on the street."

This gold award places the Parsons Police Department in the top 10% of agencies nationwide that are Lexipol partners.

Parsons Police Chief Robert Spinks said, "all of this credit goes to the hardworking staff that make our department function. They have embodied the changes that take place to grow a department into an award-winning agency. The officers put forth the effort in a brutal political climate facing the ever-changing tides of judicial review and disdain for law enforcement nationwide. They have worked understaffed for far longer than they should. They do it for the sole purpose of supporting a city they believe in. For those hardworking individuals I applaud them and look forward to what they can accomplish in the future."

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