Montgomery County Sheriff Sean P. Kilkenny (Image courtesy of Montgomery County)
In our next Managing Montco installment, we get to know what a sheriff does in Pennsylvania.
His title may be a more familiar one to you than some of our previous Row Officers, but what precisely he does may be just as mysterious. We hope you are both enjoying and learning something from our exploration of Managing Montco.
Each day, we aim to take a deeper dive into a role of a department within the county. We want to help you understand who that person is, what they do for the county, and what they can do to help you.
We are breaking down the roles of the nine departments known as “Row Officers,” and today’s feature is our Montgomery County Sheriff.
Who is the sheriff?
The current sheriff of Montgomery County is Sheriff Sean P. Kilkenny. He was elected in 2015 and re-elected by voters in 2019 and in 2023. The position was established in 1784 and has been filled for Montco ever since.
The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO). Prior to his role as sheriff, Kilkenny served the country as an officer on both active duty and Army reserves.
“Now a retired lieutenant colonel, he began his military career as a paratrooper and federal prosecutor in the Judge Advocate General Corps,” said the county’s website page for the sheriff. “He served our country overseas in Bosnia, Iraq, Kosovo, and South Korea.”
In addition to serving as sheriff, Kilkenny also serves as a managing partner of Kilkenny Law, LLC, an office of 15 attorneys and staff to provide legal counsel on real estate, zoning, and litigation matters for municipalities, corporations, and individuals throughout Philadelphia’s suburbs.
What does a sheriff do?
Kilkenny said he has directed his office, since his start in 2016, to focus on “transparency, innovation, diversity, and professionalism.” Some of his initiatives include implementing body cameras on all deputies, being one of the first to modernize sheriff’s sales taking the online, hiring a diverse staff, and insisting on focused training for all staff on sexual harassment and anti-bias training.
The county’s sheriff is responsible for overseeing the office’s more than 100 sworn deputies and two dozen administrative staff members. He is also responsible for courthouse security, prisoner transport, and personal service of the county’s criminal warrants and legal documents. The office also handles a bomb disposal service and canine unit for the county, as well as assisting other agencies as needed. The office issues weapon permits, too.
“We vow to protect our community in a manner that respects the varied backgrounds and life experiences of the diverse public we serve, and ensures all voices are heard regardless of race, color, gender, religious creed, sexual orientation, age, origin, ancestry, economic status, and mental or physical ability,” stated Kilkenny via a presentation on the MCSO’s duties.
Divisions of the Sheriff’s Office
With so many responsibilities, the sheriff’s office is divided into four unique divisions, including:
Civil Division
The civil division of the MCSO focuses on the service of court documents. Annually, the office juggles over 25,000 such documents, serving the county’s companies, residents, and organizations as needed.
Courts Division
The Courts division of the MCSO provides highly trained safety officers for the county’s courthouse, courtrooms, and surrounding properties. The division is a “highly trained” team, which is educated with international screening techniques, patrol, and guard duties.
Transportation Division
Each year, the transportation division of the MCSO handles the moving of over 12,000 prisoners. To do so, the team focuses on safety and protection of both the community and its transported prisoners. More than 1,500 offenders per year are also held in the Detention Center, supervised by the division, as they await adjudication.
Special Services
After experiencing a world-wide pandemic with COVID, this special services department opted to take its gun permitting system online. The division focuses efforts on processing the more than 10,000 new and renewed gun permits annually.
Special Units
In addition to unique divisions, the MCSO also houses some of the county’s most unique teams providing the protection and security Montgomery County residents can rely on at all times. Those include:
A “CERT” is a “county emergency response team.” The team focuses efforts on assisting in unique circumstances, such as dignitary protection during visits, assisting with civil disturbances, large events, disaster relief, and homeland security throughout the Greater Philadelphia area.
The MCSO’s K9 Unit takes award-winning combinations of deputies and dogs to patrol, search for suspects, drugs, and explosive protection for the county. Meanwhile, a bomb squad is accredited by the FBI, and trains each year for at least 120 hours. Working more than 100 calls each year, the squad collaborates with other specialty units in addition to monitoring any suspicious or potential bomb calls. It is the only squad in the Greater Philadelphia suburbs.
Lastly, the office’s Honor Guard is a trained team which presents at ceremonies, patriotic tributes, and public events. They’ve won the state’s Honor Guard Competition two years in a row.
Where is the sheriff of Montgomery County?
The Sheriff holds an office in the Montgomery County Courthouse. His office is on the first floor of the building in the county’s seat of Norristown. For more information on his office, call 610-278-3331 or email: sheriffoffice@montgomerycountypa.gov.
The office is opened Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. Those seeking more information on online gun permitting can visit https://www.montgomerycountypa.gov/401/Gun-Permits for details. For updated information on the county’s Sheriff Sales, visit https://www.montgomerycountypa.gov/413/Real-Estate-Sheriff-Sales.
