L.A. County supervisors raise questions about parolee idea

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors raised new questions Tuesday about Sheriff Lee Baca’s proposal to take on parolee supervision.

By year’s end, the state will begin passing over responsibility for thousands of low-level parolees to local governments. In every other county in the state, that responsibility will go to county probation officers, who already do similar post-release casework.

But in L.A. County, Baca is making a push to have his deputies do it. The setup, which some have called a potential conflict of interest, would be unprecedented: No law enforcement agency in the nation, officials say, handles parole or probation supervision, a task more oriented toward social work.

Supervisor Gloria Molina asked sheriff’s officials whether it made sense to have deputies — who have gone through expensive general law enforcement training — take on the specialized task of parolee supervision. She also expressed concern that the Sheriff’s Department will not have facilities specifically designated for parolee check-ins, relying instead on already-crowded patrol stations, rented courthouse space and a mobile unit or two.

Still, more than one supervisor seemed wary of handing over new responsibilities to the county Probation Department, which is under federal oversight because of troubles in its juvenile facilities.

Three of the five supervisors have floated the idea of a plan that includes both agencies. Another supervisor is leaning toward choosing the Probation Department, and one has remained neutral.

County officials have been mulling the plan for months and have held several meetings on the issue. On Tuesday, Molina asked county staff to “create some kind of a recommendation” for the board before it decides on a lead agency.

robert.faturechi@latimes.com