Lehigh County District Attorney James B. Martin revealed the Regional Intelligence and Investigation Center, along with Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski, Chief of Police at City of Bethlehem Jason Schiffer, other government officials and representatives of Computer Aid Inc., at a press conference April 25.

The RIIC began operating in January. It is a web-based portal which allows investigators to post and search important information in Lehigh County and the city of Bethlehem.

"We are confident we will be strong in solving crimes," Martin said. "Hopefully we can make this a regional center."

The center allows authorized users to search 3.5 million records, including local police and prison records.

Grants funded the center. The U.S. Department of Justice's COPS Technology Program provided $1.3 million and $500,000 came from county public safety funds.

"This was a natural thing to do," Pawlowski said. "I'm delighted to see it open; our number one priority is public safety."

"We have a lot of tools at our disposal, but nothing as good as the RIIC," Schiffer said. "The things that come out are a major benefit for us in solving crimes."

After the press conference, Julia Kocis, program manager, gave a demonstration of the web-based portal.

The program contains a daily blotter where law enforcement can post information.

"It's basically a blog for law enforcement," she said. "The only opportunity to share information like this was at a monthly crime meeting."

The program has specific applications designed for task forces, such as the Narcotics Task Force, Auto Theft and Insurance Fraud Task Force, Computer Crimes Task Force and Gang Task Force. An example is a gang blog being used.

The RIIC allows law enforcement to use Google's Street view.

"This is very helpful to emergency response teams," Martin said. "The emergency response teams can use Google Maps to decide where to position themselves."

The RIIC is seeking funding to add more functions to the system. The next phase of the project is to connect to the Philadelphia-Camden and New York-Newark high intensity drug traffic areas.