Baca wants deputies to monitor parolees

Sheriff Lee Baca not only wants his deputies to arrest and jail suspects, he thinks they should supervise the offenders' parole.Christina Villacorte in the Daily News.

Baca is making an unprecedented bid to expand the powers of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, saying it would improve community safety because his force has more resources and law enforcement know-how than probation officers.

But the idea, expected to be heard today by the Board of Supervisors, doesn't sit well with the Los Angeles County Probation Department, whose employees have been monitoring offenders since 1903.