Search

If you create any kind of alarm calls while revoked (bonafide, authorized cancel, audible alarm) - you may be issued a $500 citation for each activation. (Ordinance 8.12.040)

If you create a false alarm while revoked - you may be issued a $1,000 citation for each false alarm response. (Ordinance 8.12.128)

Washington County Ordinance 8.12.030 defines a false alarm as any "alarm signal, capable of eliciting a response by police when a situation requiring the police does not in fact exist." There are many common causes of false alarms, such as pets, system malfunctions, mistakes made by occupants of the premises, etc.

Bonafide alarm examples include when there are signs of actual or attempted forced entry, or when a neighbor reports seeing suspicious activity on the property. Fines are only imposed for false alarms.

Washington County Ordinance 8.12 also provides that alarm activations will not be treated as a false alarm if caused by obvious natural circumstances such as a wind storm or an earthquake. Additionally, if there is notification from the alarm company or the alarm user that the system is faulty or that the user erred, and that notification is received before an officer arrives on the scene, the alarm will not be charged as a false alarm.

Washington County Ordinance 8.12.030 defines an alarm system as "any assembly or equipment, mechanical or electrical, arranged to signal the occurrence of an illegal entry or other activity requiring urgent attention and to which police are expected to respond."

• At 30 days past due, a past due letter and invoice will be mailed to you
• At 60 days past due, a $18 late payment penalty will be added to any unpaid alarm fee or fine
• At 90 days past due, your alarm permit will be revoked and you will be notified in writing. A Revocation Reinstatement Fee of $30 is added to your account at the time of revocation

ORS 166.291 is available at https://oregon.public.law/statutes/ors_166.291. Scroll through the index and then down to the section you want to review.

See also: ORS Chapter 166

The permit fees and false alarm fines are used to offset the county's administrative costs of the program and time spent by deputies on false alarm calls.

Every alarm user (residential or commercial) operating an alarm system in unincorporated Washington County or in the cities of Banks, Cornelius, Hillsboro or Gaston must obtain an alarm permit from the Sheriff’s Office. A separate permit is required for each alarmed site or building.