During the first phase of the Florida Law Enforcement Exchange (Flex) project, data housed in the records management systems of local and state police, corrections and court departments will be cataloged and a metadata management layer will be created, state officials said.

The metadata management phase of the project is slated to be completed by midyear. The remaining three phases will be completed in about a year.

In many cases, investigators in Florida law enforcement offices now gather information from other departments in the state via telephone or e-mail. The Flex system promises to provide access to statewide law enforcement data with a single query, said Brenda Owens, the state's CIO, whose IT unit is overseeing the project.

"Our goal is to provide seamless access to data across the state," she said.

"An operator sitting at a PC in a police department doesn't know or care what the data looks like; they can put the inquiry in and get the information back." Large-Project Problems