State lawmakers on Wednesday received an update on an ambitious effort to link computers in police cars to a comprehensive network of criminal justice information.

As proposed, it would work this way:

A police officer pulls over a motorist. Using his laptop computer, the officer plugs in the driver's license number and with just a few clicks has full access to court, jail, police, FBI and other possible information on the driver that could show if he is wanted on warrants, walked away from probation, has a history of violence against officers or perhaps is the subject of a protective order.

State officials have created a one-stop digital source for law enforcement that they hope will further seal up cracks that often allow criminals to escape. It's called UCJIS (Utah Criminal Justice Information System), and it promises to place Utah's entire criminal justice system at police fingertips.

However, officials have told lawmakers on the Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Interim Committee that not all officers in the state have the ability to access the network in their vehicles.

In turn, lawmakers say they want every officer in a patrol vehicle statewide to easily tap into such information.

Traditionally courts, county jails, state criminal information clearinghouses, driver's license and motor vehicle divisions and other state agencies have run their own databases, and they have not necessarily been in compatible formats. Police have been able to access such data from their patrol vehicles for years but had to log into each database and navigate various systems, said Mike Sadler, information technology analyst for the Utah Department of Public Safety (DPS.)

"Before that, officers would have to radio the dispatcher to get the information; now UCJIS has access to it in their car," Sadler said.

In a cooperative effort with the Utah Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice (CCJJ) and DPS, state technology officials have worked to unify various sources of digital information into one easy-to-use resource for police. The system actually went online just before the Winter Games in 2002 but has since grown to include much more information.

Sadler said most patrol officers along the Wasatch Front, St. George and Weber County areas have access to the state's IP Mobile Net wireless system. Other police agencies have used commercial wireless service, such as Verizon's GPRS Network, to log in, but access in many parts of the state remains spotty.

Up-to-date laptops are an issue. "Laptops in the cars cost money," Sadler said. "There's a cost factor there."

Philip Bates, information technology director for the Utah Department of Public Safety, estimated costs over the next two years to bring the system to full statewide operation. The price tag may be offset by federal grants: