DENVER -- The number of people petitioning the Colorado Bureau of Investigation to clear mistakes or false information from criminal records is on pace to set a record in 2007.

Every year, hundreds of people learn they are linked to someone else's criminal record and many times, the innocent person is arrested and even jailed for crimes they did not commit.

Between 2002 and 2005, the average number of annual petitions to CBI for record clearance was 189.

In 2006, the number was 261 and in the first six months of this year, CBI has received 162 petitions.

Those numbers reflect only the people who know they are falsely linked to a criminal record.

7NEWS Investigator John Ferrugia has been reporting on this problem for more than a year. Ferrugia discovered sloppy police work, sometimes by veteran officers, is at the root of the problem.

A case in point was the arrest of 19-year-old Brandon Woodall.

He had no police record or outstanding warrants, but in July he was arrested by Denver police and thrown in jail because of the carelessness of a veteran Longmont police officer.

Brandon Woodall had received a notice in the mail to appear in court. He was confused because he had not committed any crime, so Woodall went to the Longmont Police Department for some answers.

Woodall told 7NEWS the officer admitted a mistake and the person who should have received the notice "was actually Patrick Blair Gunter."

Woodall said, "I know who that is. He used to be my old friend. I'm sure he knows all my information."

Longmont police confirm Gunter has several outstanding warrants for his arrest, but when he was stopped for traffic violations he claimed he had no identification and said his name was Brandon Woodall.

The veteran Longmont officer did not check Gunter's information and simply issued a ticket, based on Gunter's word, for Woodall.

"I am not sure why the officer overlooked that or didn't indicate that or see that," said Longmont Police Commander Craig Earhart.

Earhart told 7NEWS it wasn't the only error.

Woodall's name was also entered into the statewide computer, not as an innocent victim, but as an alias for Patrick Gunter.

"It was entered as an A.K.A. which would lead an officer that pulled somebody over (to believe) that they are one and the same person," Earhart told 7NEWS.

Five days after meeting with Longmont police, Woodall was arrested in Denver, where the police officer thought he had caught a fugitive.

Despite his protests, Woodall was photographed, fingerprinted and thrown into jail.

"That's the most scariest thing I've ever been in," Woodall said.

After several hours, Woodall was released after his fingerprints did not match those of the alleged fugitive, Patrick Gunter.

"We make thousands of traffic stops every year and occasionally we get one wrong and that is what occurred here. Unfortunately, it has consequences for Brandon Woodall and we apologize for that," said Earhart.

Earhart told 7NEWS that Longmont police take the situation seriously enough to have formed an internal group which will examine procedures and training.

As for his criminal record, Woodall must petition CBI to clear his record.

While the number of "misidentified victims" is known, it is not known which Colorado law enforcement agencies are having the biggest problem with false arrests and therefore which agencies perhaps need more effective training for officers.

The CBI said the information is not public.

Lawyers we've spoken to say keeping the information secret protects law enforcement agencies from lawsuits alleging a pattern of abuse.