State corrections officials questioned Thursday claims by the L.A. police union that the recent arrest of a man with a long criminal history showed shortcomings in a new law designed to ease prison overcrowding.

Ezra Hooker Sr., who was arrested Jan. 5 after allegedly pointing a rifle at a prostitute and leading LAPD officers on a high-speed chase in South L.A., was being monitored at the highest level of parole supervision before the incident, said Oscar Hidalgo, a spokesman for the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Hidalgo also took issue with the assertion that Hooker, who had 19 previous arrests and four convictions, would have been subject to less scrutiny under the new law. He said Hooker served time in state prison in 1988 for voluntary manslaughter, making him ineligible for "non-revocable parole" that eliminates contact with a parole agent if the parolee has committed only nonviolent offenses.

"The purpose of the law is to allow agents to focus their attention on the most violent individuals and those who pose the most risk to re-offend," Hidalgo said. "So a person like this [Hooker] would have received more intensive supervision rather than less as suggested by the Los Angeles Police Protective League."

Paul M. Weber, president of the Los Angeles Police Protective League, which represents nearly 10,000 officers, maintained the Hooker case reflects what could become a growing problem for law enforcement agencies.

"Parole once meant that failure to follow rules and remain law-abiding meant a swift return to finish a sentence," Weber said. "Apparently, in the Department of Corrections' new world, parole is a game designed to see if law enforcement can manage to solve the new crimes committed by these parolees and then obtain convictions."

Last year, union officials expressed "deep concerns" about a risk assessment database used at selected state parole offices to classify and manage parolees. They warned the system would be unable to accurately sift through criminal histories and identify differences between low- and high-risk offenders.

Officials with the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation have touted their computer risk-assessment tool as a way to better identify lower-risk offenders, whom parole agents would spend less time monitoring and who might be eligible for targeted programs instead of being put back behind bars.

State officials said their aim is to prevent "a revolving-door effect" by providing incentives to local law enforcement to charge parolees with new crimes, potentially resulting in longer prison sentences.

The average caseload for parole agents statewide before the law was passed was 70 parolees per agent. When fully implemented, the new law is expected to drop the figure to 48 parolees for each agent.