--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But the single overwhelming reason why…" description: "\"But the single overwhelming reason why jails are bursting is longer sentences given for more crimes.\" — Polly Toynbee" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d7/polly-toynbee-21635_bursting_but-the-single-overwhelming-reason-why-j_2673119.jpg" --- # But the single overwhelming reason why jails are bursting… ![“But the single overwhelming reason why jails are bursting is longer sentences given for more crimes.” quote by Polly Toynbee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d7/polly-toynbee-21635_bursting_but-the-single-overwhelming-reason-why-j_2673119.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d7/polly-toynbee-21635_bursting_but-the-single-overwhelming-reason-why-j_2673119.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d7/polly-toynbee-21635_bursting_but-the-single-overwhelming-reason-why-j_2673119.jpg) > “But the single overwhelming reason why jails are bursting is longer sentences given for more crimes.” [Polly Toynbee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/polly-toynbee/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Longer sentences for more crimes are the main cause of jail overcrowding. **In simple terms:** Harsh sentencing drives prison crowding Key Takeaway Advocate for sentencing reform Themes criminal justice policy overcrowding Mood analytical concerned Type policy social When to use this quote - law reform - advocacy - budget planning - rehabilitation programs - community safety Key Concepts sentencing prison capacity legislation public safety Questions to Reflect On - What alternatives to long sentences exist? - How can we balance safety and capacity? A Different Perspective Other factors like parole policies also contribute. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bursting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bursting/) [Crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crime/) [Given](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/given/) [Given Crimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/given-crimes-2519219/) [Jail](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jail/) [Jails](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jails/) [Jails Bursting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jails-bursting-2519216/) [Longer Sentences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/longer-sentences-2519218/) [Overwhelming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/overwhelming/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Reason Jails](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason-jails-2519217/) [Sentences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sentences/) ## Related quotes > [I write longer sentences than most of the others, maybe because I probably like Henry James more than they do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-straub/i-write-longer-sentences-than-most-of-the-others-maybe-because-i/) [Peter Straub](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-straub/) > [I would have liked to see where we would have the authority to arrest illegal aliens just by being here illegally and book them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-arpaio/i-would-have-liked-to-see-where-we-would-have-the-authority-to-arrest/) [Joe Arpaio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-arpaio/) > [The jails are full of kids from kids' homes. You're 16 years old, and you're out on the street. How you going to fend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-brown/the-jails-are-full-of-kids-from-kids-homes-you-re-16-years-old-and/) [Ian Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-brown/) > [In the 1830s, Dorothea Dix revolutionized the care of people with mental illness by taking them out of jails and caring for them in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-r-insel/in-the-1830s-dorothea-dix-revolutionized-the-care-of-people-with/) [Thomas R. Insel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-r-insel/) > [“It is said that no one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its jails.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-mandela/it-is-said-that-no-one-truly-knows-a-nation-until-one-has-been-inside/) [Nelson Mandela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-mandela/) > [Ninety percent of all prisoners in all jails get out some day. So why not give them a little levity in what's otherwise a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-ross/ninety-percent-of-all-prisoners-in-all-jails-get-out-some-day-so-why/) [Jeff Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-ross/) > [For digital natives, public schools are jails](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bing-gordon/for-digital-natives-public-schools-are-jails/) [Bing Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bing-gordon/) > [When I first went to jail in 1960 with seven classmates trying to use their public library against the backdrop of my father being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-jackson/when-i-first-went-to-jail-in-1960-with-seven-classmates-trying-to-use/) [Jesse Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-jackson/) > [Look round, the wrecks of play behold; Estates dismember'd, mortgaged, sold! Their owners now to jails confin'd, Show equal poverty of mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gay/look-round-the-wrecks-of-play-behold-estates-dismember-d-mortgaged/) [John Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gay/) > [All it takes is a single person coming into or going out of the jail or prison with COVID-19, and the entire jail will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chesa-boudin/all-it-takes-is-a-single-person-coming-into-or-going-out-of-the-jail/) [Chesa Boudin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chesa-boudin/) > [There are not enough jails, not enough police, not enough courts to enforce a law not supported by the people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hubert-h-humphrey/there-are-not-enough-jails-not-enough-police-not-enough-courts-to/) [Hubert H. Humphrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hubert-h-humphrey/) > [I've been quite fortunate to visit juvenile detention centers in Australia, jails in Western Australia. To be able to go out there and visit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patty-mills/i-ve-been-quite-fortunate-to-visit-juvenile-detention-centers-in/) [Patty Mills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patty-mills/) > [Branding jails corporate America, but honesty sets entrepreneurs free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-altucher/branding-jails-corporate-america-but-honesty-sets-entrepreneurs-free/) [James Altucher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-altucher/) > [You don't need jails, you get put a thousand miles into the middle of Australia, you can go wherever you want, go ahead, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-simmons/you-don-t-need-jails-you-get-put-a-thousand-miles-into-the-middle-of/) [Gene Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-simmons/) > [We are tired of being beaten by policemen. We are tired of seeing our people locked up in jails over and over again. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lewis/we-are-tired-of-being-beaten-by-policemen-we-are-tired-of-seeing-our/) [John Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lewis/) ## More by Polly Toynbee > [Most people come to fear not death itself, but the many terrible ways of dying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/polly-toynbee/most-people-come-to-fear-not-death-itself-but-the-many-terrible-ways/) [Polly Toynbee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/polly-toynbee/) > [Could a government dare to set out with happiness as its goal? Now that there are accepted scientific proofs, it would be easy to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/polly-toynbee/could-a-government-dare-to-set-out-with-happiness-as-its-goal-now/) [Polly Toynbee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/polly-toynbee/) > [Openness about death has led to greater care about all aspects of dying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/polly-toynbee/openness-about-death-has-led-to-greater-care-about-all-aspects-of/) [Polly Toynbee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/polly-toynbee/) > [Working lives are for the state to influence. Unemployment makes people unhappy. So does instability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/polly-toynbee/working-lives-are-for-the-state-to-influence-unemployment-makes/) [Polly Toynbee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/polly-toynbee/) > [Islam, Christianity and Judaism all define themselves through disgust of women's bodies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/polly-toynbee/islam-christianity-and-judaism-all-define-themselves-through-disgust/) [Polly Toynbee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/polly-toynbee/) > [Inequality makes everyone unhappy, the poor most of all, and that is well within the remit of the state. More money gives less extra…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/polly-toynbee/inequality-makes-everyone-unhappy-the-poor-most-of-all-and-that-is/) [Polly Toynbee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/polly-toynbee/) > [“The strain of engaging emotionally with all that misery was exhausting. The kindness and hard work of the care assistants here was worth far…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/polly-toynbee/the-strain-of-engaging-emotionally-with-all-that-misery-was/) [Polly Toynbee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/polly-toynbee/) > [Nothing keeps people together like the exalted conviction that they alone are to be spared that eternal anguish of hell fire to which everyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/polly-toynbee/nothing-keeps-people-together-like-the-exalted-conviction-that-they/) [Polly Toynbee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/polly-toynbee/) > [The best care on earth cannot prevent us all dying in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/polly-toynbee/the-best-care-on-earth-cannot-prevent-us-all-dying-in-the-end/) [Polly Toynbee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/polly-toynbee/) > [One in six people suffer depression or a chronic anxiety disorder. These are not the worried well but those in severe mental pain with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/polly-toynbee/one-in-six-people-suffer-depression-or-a-chronic-anxiety-disorder/) [Polly Toynbee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/polly-toynbee/) > [But instead of standing up for reason, our government is handing education over to the world of faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/polly-toynbee/but-instead-of-standing-up-for-reason-our-government-is-handing/) [Polly Toynbee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/polly-toynbee/) > [The strongest predictor of unhappiness is anyone who has had a mental illness in the last 10 years. It is an even stronger predictor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/polly-toynbee/the-strongest-predictor-of-unhappiness-is-anyone-who-has-had-a-mental/) [Polly Toynbee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/polly-toynbee/) > [People want the right to die at a time of their own choosing. Too many families have watched helplessly as a relative dies slowly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/polly-toynbee/people-want-the-right-to-die-at-a-time-of-their-own-choosing-too-many/) [Polly Toynbee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/polly-toynbee/) > [This is indeed a clash of civilisations, not between Islam and Christendom but between reason and superstition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/polly-toynbee/this-is-indeed-a-clash-of-civilisations-not-between-islam-and/) [Polly Toynbee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/polly-toynbee/) > [Feminism is the most revolutionary idea there has ever been. Equality for women demands a change in the human psyche, more profound than anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/polly-toynbee/feminism-is-the-most-revolutionary-idea-there-has-ever-been-equality/) [Polly Toynbee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/polly-toynbee/) [Explore all 29 Polly Toynbee quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/polly-toynbee/) ## More Bursting quotes > [Like many other scientists who hold the Catholic faith, I see the Creator's plan and purpose fulfilled in our universe. I see a planet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-r-miller/like-many-other-scientists-who-hold-the-catholic-faith-i-see-the/) [Kenneth R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-r-miller/) > [The spring came suddenly, bursting upon the world as a child bursts into a room, with a laugh and a shout and hands full…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/the-spring-came-suddenly-bursting-upon-the-world-as-a-child-bursts/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) > [All the earth is at rest and is quiet: they are bursting into song. Even the trees of the wood are glad over you,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaiah/all-the-earth-is-at-rest-and-is-quiet-they-are-bursting-into-song/) [Isaiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaiah/) > [Early humans, bursting with questions about Nature but with limited understanding of its dynamics, explained things in terms of supernatural persons and person-animals who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-goodenough/early-humans-bursting-with-questions-about-nature-but-with-limited/) [Ursula Goodenough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-goodenough/) > [The energy of the stars becomes us. We become the energy of the stars. Stardust and spirit unite and we begin: one with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-kucinich/the-energy-of-the-stars-becomes-us-we-become-the-energy-of-the-stars/) [Dennis Kucinich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-kucinich/) > [And people who do not know the Lord ask why in the world we waste our lives as missionaries. They forget that they too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate-saint/and-people-who-do-not-know-the-lord-ask-why-in-the-world-we-waste-our/) [Nate Saint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate-saint/) > [“I have my own way to walk and for some reason or other Zen is right in the middle of it wherever I go.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/i-have-my-own-way-to-walk-and-for-some-reason-or-other-zen-is-right/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [“That was how she felt, right then. As if there was too much of her, as if her skin was tight with muchness. She…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-black/that-was-how-she-felt-right-then-as-if-there-was-too-much-of-her-as/) [Holly Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-black/) > [“When you make love you're using up energy; and afterwards you feel happy and don't give a damn for anything. They can't bear you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/when-you-make-love-you-re-using-up-energy-and-afterwards-you-feel/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [For what is the program of the bourgeois parties? A bad poem on springtime, filled to bursting with metaphors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-benjamin/for-what-is-the-program-of-the-bourgeois-parties-a-bad-poem-on/) [Walter Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-benjamin/) > [I mean, when you think about it, it's 'bombs bursting in air,' 'rocket's red glare,' it's all kinds of - you know a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-press/i-mean-when-you-think-about-it-it-s-bombs-bursting-in-air-rocket-s/) [Bill Press](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-press/) > [There are more ideas on earth than intellectuals imagine. And these ideas are more active, stronger, more resistant, more passionate than politicians think. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/there-are-more-ideas-on-earth-than-intellectuals-imagine-and-these/) [Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/) > [I'm just constantly on the verge of bursting into tears with joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phoebe-waller-bridge/i-m-just-constantly-on-the-verge-of-bursting-into-tears-with-joy/) [Phoebe Waller-Bridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phoebe-waller-bridge/) > [Look at the sky. It’s not dark and black and without character. The black is, in fact deep blue. And over there: lighter blue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-curtis/look-at-the-sky-it-s-not-dark-and-black-and-without-character-the/) [Richard Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-curtis/) > [Every day I discover more and more beautiful things. It’s enough to drive one mad. I have such a desire to do everything, my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-monet/every-day-i-discover-more-and-more-beautiful-things-it-s-enough-to/) [Claude Monet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-monet/) [Browse all 207 Bursting quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bursting/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "But the single overwhelming reason why jails are bursting is longer sentences given for more crimes.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Polly Toynbee" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/polly-toynbee/but-the-single-overwhelming-reason-why-jails-are-bursting-is-longer/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bursting" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/polly-toynbee/but-the-single-overwhelming-reason-why-jails-are-bursting-is-longer/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d7/polly-toynbee-21635_bursting_but-the-single-overwhelming-reason-why-j_2673119.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d7/polly-toynbee-21635_bursting_but-the-single-overwhelming-reason-why-j_2673119.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d7/polly-toynbee-21635_bursting_but-the-single-overwhelming-reason-why-j_2673119.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“But the single overwhelming reason why jails are bursting is longer sentences given for more crimes.” — Polly Toynbee", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Polly Toynbee", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/polly-toynbee/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "But the single overwhelming reason why...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/polly-toynbee/but-the-single-overwhelming-reason-why-jails-are-bursting-is-longer/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/polly-toynbee/but-the-single-overwhelming-reason-why-jails-are-bursting-is-longer/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```