State awards $500,000 grant to Lehigh Valley law enforcement intelligence initiative

The Lehigh Valley Regional Intelligence and Investigation Center, a regional law enforcement initiative allowing municipalities to collaborate on data collection and solving crime, has received a half a million dollars in state funding, legislators announced Thursday.The $501,500 grant from the Commonwealth Financing Authority will go toward annual software maintenance and development and personnel costs at the center, which is overseen by the Lehigh County District Attorney’s office.The RIIC opened in 2013 and was initially restricted to Lehigh County municipalities. In 2017, data from Northampton County police departments began to integrate into the system.The center’s gang-tracking computer system has been lauded by Josh Shapiro, who visited the Allentown facility in 2015 before becoming state attorney general.Prior to this grant, the RIIC has received grants from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, which Shapiro chaired, and the Harry C. Trexler Trust.Morning Call reporter Kayla Dwyer can be reached at 610-820-6554 or at kdwyer@mcall.com.
Source: Morningcall