Another prison expansion is on the cards as the ACT government continues to battle surging numbers of inmates locked-up at the Alexander Maconochie Centre.
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Between 2010 and 2016 Canberra's prison population has grown 95 per cent, with government officials predicting further increases as the territory's population grows.
The justice directorate recently contracted an engineering consultancy to investigate options for tackling prison overcrowding, government tender documents show.
"The feasibility study will inform how we use our existing accommodation as well as the need for potential additional facilities," a justice directorate spokeswoman said.
Overcrowding has been a near-constant issue at the Alexander Maconochie Centre in recent years.
An inquest into the 2013 suicide of an inmate was told that overcrowding and flawed information sharing had been factors in his death.
In 2016 a 112-bed cell block costing $47 million was opened at the prison to ease "intense" accommodation pressures.
A management unit was used temporarily in 2017 to cope with increases in the number of female inmates, while the old Symonston detention centre briefly housed a small number of male inmates between 2015 and 2016.
A justice directorate spokeswoman said accommodation pressures had been caused by the growing number of female prisoners.
"Unfortunately, detainee numbers continue to increase to levels that are unable to be accommodated solely within the current buildings in the AMC, especially for female detainees due to limited placement options.
"It is now time to consolidate our efforts, to cater for a growing population with continued planning that leads to better outcomes for our detainees and community."
The Alexander Maconochie Centre has a total capacity of 511, with 482 beds for men and 29 for women.
The female population recently peaked at 45.
Tender documents show that GHD Ltd has been paid $275,000 to explore the case for further construction at the Alexander Maconochie Centre.
The company's report will inform a bid for funding in the next government budget.
The most recent government figures show that the average daily number of prisoners inside the Alexander Maconochie Centre in 2016 was 445.
This was an increase of 95 per cent since 2010, when the average daily number of prisoners was 228.
As of last week there were 37 women and 427 men locked-up at the Alexander Maconochie Centre, a justice spokeswoman said.
"The overall trend in the ACT has been mirrored in other jurisdictions in recent years, with Victoria and NSW also experiencing a spike in overall detainee numbers.
"The growing rate of female imprisonment is particularly concerning for all states and territories, who have seen an 8 per cent increase nationally in the 12 months to June 2016."
Prisoner numbers reached an all-time high of 470 in May of this year.
The ACT Liberal's corrections spokeswoman Giulia Jones said steps to address the "overflowing" prison population needed to be taken a long time ago.
"Around half of the women housed at the AMC are inappropriately accommodated in the management unit which was designed to manage difficult male inmates," she said.
"Sometimes women are even accommodated in the health centre's beds, which are designed as medical observation rooms not cells.
"In the meantime the AMC does not have the benefit of a management unit and prison guards have fewer options for the management of difficult male inmates."
