Pretrial Services Officer

Job Description

Court Services Officer 2 – Pretrial Services – Criminal Division | New Jersey Courts

The Tone:
This is a full-time, hybrid role for the New Jersey Judiciary, an 8500-member strong team operating with the highest standards of independence, integrity, fairness, and quality service. You will be engaged in work that offers purpose, meaning, and makes a difference in the lives of the public. This role contributes to building public trust and confidence in the court system, addressing critical issues such as bail reform, marijuana decriminalization, and recovery court. The Judiciary honors individual dignity, fosters professionalism, and promotes continuous improvement.

The TL;DR
• Role: Experienced Professional
• Type: Full-time (non-traditional work week, including weekends, holidays, and on-call responsibilities)
• Location: Hybrid, New Jersey
• Pay: $61749–$100154 yearly
• Team: Pretrial Services – Criminal Division
• Mission: Monitor pretrial release conditions for individuals, assisting them to ensure court appearance and public safety during their release period.

What You’ll Actually Do
• Monitoring: Monitor the conditions of pretrial release for individuals requiring more stringent oversight and frequent court contact, assisting them in achieving specific goals to ensure court appearance and public safety.
• Assessment & Reporting: Research criminal case histories, conduct comprehensive pretrial risk assessments, and meticulously prepare reports detailing individuals’ compliance or non-compliance with conditions of release to the court.
• Judicial Support: Meet with defendants, formulate and present recommendations to judges regarding appropriate conditions of pretrial release, and staff crucial first appearance/Central Judicial Processing hearings and pretrial detention hearings.
• Client Guidance: Provide essential guidance to clients with diverse social, emotional, and rehabilitative needs, making appropriate recommendations and/or referrals for social services, testing, treatment, or counseling, and monitoring their treatment progress.
• Program Support: Assist supervisors with the training and mentoring of new and existing Pretrial Services staff, and contribute to stakeholder and community outreach initiatives related to the Pretrial Services Program.

The Must-Haves
• Background: Graduation from an accredited college or university with a bachelor’s degree.
• Experience: Two years of professional experience in case management, specifically involving gathering and analyzing case-related information and exercising independent judgment and discretion. This experience must include reviewing cases to identify management and discovery needs, coordinating with judges and/or attorneys to resolve case issues, and/or preparing reports of findings and recommendations. A master’s degree may substitute for one year of experience.
• Skills: Demonstrated proficiency in case management, strong analytical capabilities for researching and interpreting criminal histories and conducting risk assessments, effective report preparation, and the ability to exercise sound judgment and discretion in complex situations.
• Bonus: Experience specifically within pretrial services programs is considered helpful, though not a strict requirement for consideration.