Australia’s prison system is being pushed to its limit, with reports of overcrowding in almost every state and territory.

The latest Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) figures have shown there are over 33,000 inmates in Australia.

It is the highest prison population Australia has ever had.

Women are the fastest rising group of prisoners across Australia, and the rate rise is even higher for Indigenous women.

According to the ABS, the number of Indigenous women in jail has nearly doubled in a decade.

A highly-respected former Supreme Court judge, Christine Wheeler QC, says she quit four years ago because she had become disillusioned with a system that relied too heavily on jails.

She said prison sentences are not an effective deterrent for the often opportunistic or non-forward-thinking criminal mind.

In Victoria, the state government has been forced to keep prisoners in modified shipping containers and other temporary solutions. Melbourne has so many people on remand that jail officers are failing to get them to court on time

In Queensland and South Australia, prisoners often sleep on mattresses and fold-out beds.

More than 11,000 of Australia’s 33,000 inmates are in New South Wales jails.

The situation is so bad at some sites, guards have locked the gates are are refusing to accept new inmates.

Authorities representing the legal community as well as prison guards’ representatives have made suggestions to help fix the dangerous issue.

More community-based sentences for non-violent crimes will keep some out of prison, as several states say they are not keen to build more jails.