FOLLOWING A SUMMARY OF THE STATUS OF FLORIDA'S CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORD SYSTEM BEFORE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PRIVACY AND SECURITY PLAN IN 1976, A DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE NEW PLAN IS GIVEN. THE MAJOR PROBLEMS FACED IN DEVELOPMENT OF THE NEW SYSTEM WERE UNIFORM DEFINITIONS, RULES, AND PRACTICES. VARIOUS COURTS HAD USED DIFFERENT SYSTEMS FOR RELEASE OF INFORMATION. UNIFORM POLICY WAS ESSENTIAL TO BRING THE RECORDS INFORMATION SYSTEM INTO COMPLIANCE WITH DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE REGULATIONS UNDER TITLE 28. A GOOD CENTRAL REPOSITORY HAD ALREADY BEEN DEVELOPED, AND INDIVIDUAL RECORDS WERE NEARLY ALL COMPLETE AND UP-TO-DATE. AN AUDIT OF RECORDS HAD BEEN ESTABLISHED, AND PROCEDURES HAD BEEN DEVELOPED TO NOTIFY APPROPRIATE PARTIES OF ERRORS. POLICIES FOR DISSEMINATION WERE ALREADY MORE STRINGENT THAN THOSE OF THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT. THE DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIVACY AND SECURITY PLAN INCLUDES SAMPLES OF REQUESTS FOR INFORMATION, POLICY STATEMENTS, AND CITATIONS FROM THE FLORIDA PUBLIC RECORDS LAW SUPPORTING VARIOUS ACTIONS TAKEN BY THE CRIMINAL RECORDS DIVISION. IN GENERAL, THE GREATEST PROBLEM HAS BEEN THE ANNUAL AUDIT OF ALL COURT SYSTEMS IN THE STATE MANDATED BY THE NEW PLAN. THIS HAS A SIGNIFICANT COST IMPACT AND HAS, IN ADDITION, RAISED THE QUESTIONS OF AUDIT SCOPE, RESPONSIBILITIES OF VARIOUS PARTIES IN THE AUDIT, AND THE FINDINGS OF AN IMPARTIAL AUDITOR. OPTIONS REVIEWED INCLUDE AN AUDIT STAFF WITHIN THE CRIMINAL RECORDS DIVISION; A SEPARATE AUDIT TEAM MADE UP OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM; A CONTRACTUAL ARRANGEMENT WITH OUTSIDE AUDITORS; A MIX OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE STAFF, AUDITOR GENERAL STAFF, AND OUTSIDE AUDITORS; AND A PRIVACY AND SECURITY AUDIT STAFF AUGMENTATION OF THE FLORIDA AUDITOR GENERAL. APPENDIXES PROVIDE DEFINITIONS OF TERMS USED; COPIES OF FORMS USED IN CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORDS; AND AUDIT STANDARDS. (GLR)