State and federal prisons reach record inmate level

The number of state and federal prisoners reached a record high of 384,316 in the first three months of 1982, the Justice Department says.

The bureau said there was a 13.7 percent jump in the number of prisoners during the 12-month period ending March 31. Women make up only 4 percent of the total prison population, but their numbers grew almost twice as fast as the number of male prisoners during the first three months of the year.