District Attorney James B. Martin announced recently he will run for re-election for the Office of District Attorney of Lehigh County this year. He will seek the nomination of the Republican Party at the primary election in May. Martin has been District Attorney of Lehigh County since January 1998 when he was appointed by the Lehigh County Commissioners to succeed Judge Robert L. Steinberg. He was elected to three four-year terms since then, and has passed the late George J. Joseph as the longest serving district attorney in the county's history.

"I believe that my leadership of this important office has been effective and that the citizens of Lehigh County have been well served," he said. "The record compiled by our office has been outstanding, and I am quite comfortable running on my record for a fifth elected term of office. When the record of the district attorney's office under my leadership is scrutinized, as it should be, I believe the voters will be satisfied that the office is in good hands under my leadership."

Through 2013, the 15th year of his tenure, his office has disposed of more than 70,000 adult criminal cases with a conviction rate of more than 96 percent and more than 23,000 juvenile cases have been prosecuted.

Of the 217 defendants charged with criminal homicide since 1998, 211 have been convicted. For those murder cases that went to trial, the conviction rate is greater than 92 percent.

"These statistics...represent the fact that I have assembled a skilled, hard-working staff, who are working well with the Court of Common Pleas to dispose of cases in a timely manner," he said.

Martin pointed to a number of innovations he has spearheaded:

· The first Investigating Grand Jury in Lehigh County's history was empaneled in 2001. Currently, the seventh Investigating Grand Jury is hearing cases.

· The Child Advocacy Center of Lehigh County was established in 2001, as a co-located facility bringing law enforcement, Office of Children and Youth caseworkers and health care professionals together to provide victims of child abuse and sexual assault caring and professional services.

· The Municipal Emergency Response Team was formed in cooperation with Lehigh County Chiefs of Police in 2001 to respond to high-risk situations.

· The Bad Check Restitution Program, implemented in 2005, has recovered more than $250,000 for victims.

· The Lehigh County Homicide Task Force, formed in 2005, has assisted area police departments in solving 78 criminal homicides.

· The Officer David M. Petzold Digital Forensics Laboratory of Lehigh County was initiated in partnership with the Officer David M. Petzold Memorial Foundation, DeSales University to provide state-of-the-art digital forensic analyses.

· In January 2011 Martin established the District Attorney's Veterans' Mentor Program, which pairs veterans in the community with veterans who are charged with non-violent crimes.

· The Elder Abuse Task Force, formed in 2007, increases public awareness of elder abuse and neglect and assists in investigations of crimes against the elderly.

· The Lehigh County Central Booking Center, established in 2007, saves police departments thousands of officer's hours in the processing of individuals arrested.

· In 2012/2013 Martin established the Lehigh County Firearm and Tool Mark Laboratory to provide law enforcement agencies with expert ballistics examinations on an accelerated basis.

· He spearheaded the development of the Lehigh County Regional Intelligence and Investigation Center, which began operations in 2013. This center integrates data from county police departments and dozens of local, state and federal databases in one electronic crime-fighting resource.

· Recently, Martin obtained a grant to assist in the placement of medication collection boxes at 12 police departments and at Lehigh Valley Hospital Center.

· In 2014, Martin revamped the Domestic Violence Unit of the district attorney's office and, with the assistance of the Court of Common Pleas, established a Domestic Violence Court through which all domestic violence cases are now prosecuted.