Investigation scenes you see on TV, where a police officer punches in the name of suspect on a computer to retrieve all the necessary information such as an address, vehicles, mug shot and fingerprints, are far from reality.

The reality is that, in Minnesota, an officer needs to call up several different agencies to get the information. The number of criminal justice authorities in the state is 1,100.

The state has started building a new system, called CriMNet, which will eventually connect information each agency has accumulated and makes real-time data about any individual available.

&uot;A technology is out there, but it is not used,&uot; said CriMNet Deputy Director Tom Kooy. &uot;It’s almost a joke.&uot;

The system functions similarly to an Internet search engine. An inquiry made on a name automatically will go through the computer files of every agency in the system and retrieve all relevant information.

Currently, most of the database criminal justice agencies can use are contained in centralized files, and the computers don’t store all the information field offices have gathered. Plus, there’s often a significant time lag between the time an incident occurred and when the computers are updated.

CriMNet aims not only to bridge different jurisdictions but also to reduce the time deferral by hooking up the local computer files directly to a system that anybody can access.

&uot;It will allow a police officer to check the criminal records of a suspect in different counties and jurisdictions through an on-board terminal in the squad car,&uot; said Sen. Grace Schwab, R-Albert Lea.

Schwab pushed the legislature to approve $27 million, the largest appropriation to date, in the last legislative session. About $20 million will be used to update the state court information system, according to Kooy.

The interactive data communication will be possible only after major renovations are done on existing computer systems. And the total cost will exceed $200 million before the system is done.

&uot;Nearly $2 billion is spent on criminal justice in Minnesota,&uot; said Kooy. &uot;The investment on CriMNet will improve efficiency and accountability. That will pay for itself.&uot;