Cooper called on the state Correction Department to help track offenders across North Carolina by giving state law enforcement officers information on criminals on probation and parole.

"Law enforcement is sick of arresting suspects and making cases only to see the same offenders out on the street," he said. "We should be able to see immediately if a suspect is on probation when he's caught committing another crime, so he can be put in jail."

Cooper's announcement comes weeks after the public learned how badly the state's probation system mishandled the cases of the two men accused of murdering UNC student leader Eve Carson.

Both men were on probation when they were arrested. One had not spoken with a probation officer in at least a year. If the correction officials agree with Cooper's request, information on criminals who are on probation, parole and post-release supervision would be available to law enforcement across the state as soon as it is entered into the Division of Criminal Information system. Already the DCI network has a system in place that could handle the more than all 113,000 people on probation in North Carolina.

Calls to the Department of Correction were not immediately returned.

"We must be able to alert law enforcement that the suspect they pull over in the middle of the night is on probation and could be trouble," Cooper said.

"This system would also alert probation officers to the fact that one of their people may be violating probation requirements. It adds thousands of eyes and ears to the probation officer's enforcement efforts and lets them make an arrest when they know someone has done wrong." The State Bureau of Investigation's DCI system compiles and distributes information to the criminal justice system. Through the network, police and court officials can find criminal records, sex offender entries, missing persons alerts and other information.

However, information on whether defendants are on probation or parole is housed at the state Department of Correction, and currently is not readily available to law enforcement, prosecutors and courthouse clerks.