The Northwest Accreditation Alliance exists to improve the quality and delivery of law enforcement and communication services to the citizens of its communities, by endorsing and assisting in the processes of national and state accreditation. NWAA provides technical assistance to agencies in all phases of accreditation, from file setup and documentation to on-site assessments.

Eligibility for membership is limited to statutorily authorized law enforcement and emergency communications 9-1-1 centers within the states of Oregon and Alaska. Once the agency is approved for membership, the Executive Director the agency completes an NWAA contract and pays appropriate membership fees.

Membership dues are assigned according to the agency size. An agency’s size is determined by the number of authorized full-time sworn and non-sworn personnel the agency employs. For Sheriff offices this excludes corrections personnel and Parole and Probation Officers. NWAA does not accredit jails.

NWAA uses the PowerDMS Accreditation Module as their mandatory records management system (RMS).  For agencies under 50 sworn FTE the annual fee is $550 For agencies over 50 sworn FTE the fee is $650. The PowerDMS contract is separate from the NWAA contract.

Membership (Annual) Fee Schedule
by Agency Size

  • “A” size agency 1- 10 FTE employees $1,131.00
  • “B” size agency 11 – 25 FTE employees $2,159.00
  • “C” size agency 26 – 75 FTE employees $3,272.00
  • “D” size agency 76-200 FTE employees $4,217.00
  • “E” size Agency 201+ FTE Employees $5,338.00

Begin the Onboarding Process

If an agency has a communication/9-1-1 center and decides to also seek accredited status, the fee for the communication center will be one-half of the regular fee based on the total FTE communication staff. For example, if the Communication/9-1-1 center has a total FTE of fifteen (15), their annual fee would be $1,079.00, which is half of the regular fee of $2,159.00.

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