Prison sentences of less than a year should be scrapped, a meeting of jail governors will be told.
At its annual conference, the Prison Governors Association will be urged to back a motion condemning the rise in the jail population to record levels.
The proposal calls for ministers to launch a "radical review" of sentencing policy and scrap all jail terms shorter than 12 months.
Prisoner numbers in England and Wales passed the 84,000 mark for the first time at the start of August.
On Friday there were 84,354 in custody, despite around 2,500 inmates being released more than two weeks early from their sentences every month.
Ministers have pledged to increase prison capacity to 96,000 by 2014. But critics say short jail sentences are ineffective at reforming criminals and should be abolished in favour of community punishments.
The motion, which is proposed by the association's national executive committee, states: "This association deplores the rise in population to a new record of over 84,000 in August and condemns this as a failure of penal policy.
"This association therefore calls on the Government to radically review sentencing policy with a view to abolishing immediate custodial sentences of less than 12 months."
Other motions to be considered by the conference, which starts in Buxton, Derbyshire, include criticism of cuts to prison budgets. Delegates will also discuss urging ministers to increase residential drug treatment places and calls to abandon the use of private contractors to run prisons.
Justice Secretary Jack Straw is due to address the conference.
