Nation IN BRIEF : WASHINGTON, D.C. : Prison Parolees Increase by 12.5%

The number of parolees from state and federal prison sentences went up 12.5% in 1988--the largest increase of the decade, according to a recent Justice Department study. Adults on parole from state and federal prison sentences increased from 362,748 at the start of 1988 to 407,977 at year’s end. Alabama, where a 36% increase was the largest among states, paroles prisoners convicted of property crimes to make room for violent offenders, said Don Drasheff, a spokesman for the state board of pardons and paroles. North Carolina, which posted a 33.3% increase, has a law that limits the number of inmates that can be held in state prisons.