Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin announced this week that a $501,500 state grant has been secured for the Regional Intelligence and Investigation Center, which the Lehigh County District Attorney oversees.

The grant is funded through the local share agreement established in the Pennsylvania Gaming Act for Lehigh and Northampton Counties from revenue generated at the Wind Creek Bethlehem Casino (formerly Sands Bethlehem Casino) and administered by Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Financing Authority.

Specifically, the grant will be used for software support, maintenance and development costs for work to be done by a team from Computer Aid Inc., a local industry-leading technology company.

CAI developed, with assistance from director of the investigation center Julia Kocis, the state-of-the-art information technology system that allows local police investigators to query and analyze crime and intelligence data.

“I am very grateful to all of these legislators for the funding they have provided for the RIIC,” Martin said. “It represents their acknowledgement and understanding of the important work being done there and how it enhances public safety for the citizens of our entire region.”

The investigation center, which has been operational since January 2013, supports local, state and federal law enforcement partners within both Lehigh and Northampton counties by providing law enforcement with a mechanism for better communication and collaboration of cross-jurisdictional criminal activity throughout the Lehigh Valley.

The technology and services offered by the RIIC have improved the core activities of investigative case support by creating efficiencies for data query, effectiveness through the integration of multiple systems, enablement for investigative operations through its custom applications, and its host of analytic services offered that are valuable from investigation through prosecution.

Today, the RIIC has over 1,200 law enforcement users of its software and services and aggregates roughly 6 million local police incident, arrest and person records, as well as county jail data from both Lehigh and Northampton counties.

The Lehigh Valley legislators who secured the funding were: state Senators Browne, R-Lehigh, Lisa Boscola, D-Lehigh/Northampton, and Mario Scavello, R-Northampton, and state Representatives Gary Day, R-Lehigh, Joe Emrick, R-Northampton, Bob Freeman, D-Northampton, Ryan Mackenzie, R-Lehigh, Zach Mako, R-Lehigh/Northampton, Steve Samuelson, D-Northampton, Mike Schlossberg, D-Lehigh, Peter Schweyer, D-Lehigh, and Justin Simmons, R-Lehigh/Northampton.

“Enhancing public safety and ensuring our local law enforcement personnel have access to the best possible tools to keep our communities safe has always been one of my greatest priorities as a legislator,” Boscola said. “As demonstrated through this bi-partisan effort, our delegation recognizes that the Regional Intelligence and Investigation Center equips our law enforcement officials with the most accurate and up-to-date information to help solve crimes, enhance public safety and provide justice for the victims of crime.”

While the grant is awarded to Lehigh County, approximately $275,000 will be allocated to offset the share of operating expenses attributed to Northampton County. Lehigh County, which has shouldered the entire financial obligation of the annual operating expenses of about $1.3 million, will have $225,000 allocated to it.