To help people at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, there are many job opportunities, such as district attorneys, public defenders and pretrial services.
For positions like these, all it takes is a few more years of school.
According to courthouse pretrial services employee Christia Malone, pretrial services take place after someone is arrested and before their trial.
They interview the defendant to get background information and do a risk assessment so the judge can set bail.
“I’ve also worked in probation before. We talk about [probation] after a sentencing,” Malone said.
According to Corporal Trever Keller, to do any law enforcement job, applicants are not required to have earned a college degree.
“We don’t require college, just a high school diploma and a clean background,” Keller said.
However, most people at the sheriff’s office have degrees.
“I went to Temple to get an architecture degree,” Keller said.
According to District Attorney Kathy McLaughlin, attorneys need a bachelor’s degree, but it does not need to be in criminal justice.
“You have to go to law school, which is three years, and you would graduate with your doctorate,” McLaughlin said. “If you would like to be a practicing attorney, you have to take the bar exam, which is a two-day test in Pennsylvania; you have to take [the bar] in each state [to practice law].”
According to juvenile probation officer Darlene Aris, it is easy to get a career out of college.
“[For] juvenile probation, you would need a bachelor’s. It doesn’t necessarily have to be criminal justice, or [a] minor [in] criminal justice,” Aris said.
According to Keller, to work in law enforcement, there are two types of training: Act two and Act 120.
“So there’s either Act two or Act 120: the sheriff’s training is Act two, which is essentially the same thing as Act 120, which is police,” Keller said.