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Morrow County sheriff’s office, 911 center receive regional accreditation
Summary
The Morrow County Sheriff’s Office and its 911 communications center received accreditation from the Northwest Accreditation Alliance after a multi-year effort to document policies and compliance, county officials said.
The Morrow County Sheriff’s Office and the county’s 9-1-1 communications center were presented accreditation awards by the Northwest Accreditation Alliance during the board of commissioners meeting on May 30.
The accreditation presentation was made by Scott Hayes, executive director of the Northwest Accreditation Alliance, who said accreditation is intended to "support the continued improvement of law enforcement services, to establish best practices through professional standards, to promote the agency accountability and transparency, and to enhance operational management." Hayes said the sheriff’s office was evaluated against 110 law enforcement standards and the communications center against 56 standards.
Sheriff John Bowles and accreditation manager Lieutenant Christian Bowles were singled out in the presentation. County commissioners and staff congratulated the department and noted that accreditation requires both documented policies and evidence that the agency actually followed those policies over the review period.
Morrow County officials described the work as time-consuming and staff-intensive: the initial accreditation was earned in 02/2022, and the re-accreditation required maintaining documentation and compliance over the following three-year period. County leaders attributed the accomplishment to the sheriff’s office staff and to Lieutenant Christian Bowles for managing the accreditation process.
Commissioners joined in recognizing the award and asked that photos and the certificate be displayed. No formal action was required or taken by the board on the accreditation presentation.
The accreditation award is the product of an external review process operated by the Northwest Accreditation Alliance, a program formed under the Oregon State Sheriffs Association, the Oregon Association of Chiefs of Police, and the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials, the presenter said.
Morrow County officials said the accreditation is intended to support community trust and to document conformity with state and federal legal and training requirements.
