A 45-year-old man serving time in a British prison is now 63% more likely to be assaulted than he was just a year ago. While the headlines focus on AI safety debates in Delhi, the violence inside Britain's prison walls has reached alarming new heights.

The latest Ministry of Justice data reveals that assaults on prisoners aged 40-49 jumped from 891 incidents in 2022 to 1,457 in 2023. This isn't teenagers lashing out or young offenders finding their feet. These are middle-aged men, often serving longer sentences, caught in an escalating cycle of violence.

This age group tells a particular story. At 40-plus, most prisoners have settled into the rhythm of incarceration. They're not the impulsive 20-somethings driving most prison statistics. When violence against this demographic spikes by nearly two-thirds, it signals something fundamental has shifted in Britain's prison system.

The numbers expose the lie that prison violence is just young men being young men. Middle-aged prisoners are supposed to be the stabilising force behind bars. Prison officers rely on experienced inmates to help keep order. When they become targets at this rate, the entire system is failing.

This surge coincides with chronic overcrowding and staff shortages that have plagued the prison service for years. Older prisoners, who might once have commanded respect or found relative safety in their experience, are now bearing the brunt of a system under severe strain.

The 40-49 age bracket also represents prisoners at a crucial point in their sentences. Many are serving terms that began in their twenties or thirties. They've done their time quietly, kept their heads down, and now face unprecedented levels of violence as they approach potential release or transfer.

What makes this spike particularly troubling is its speed. A 63.5% increase in assaults doesn't happen gradually. It suggests a rapid deterioration in prison conditions that official reports and government statements have yet to fully acknowledge.

While ministers debate the future of artificial intelligence abroad, the very real, very present crisis in Britain's prisons continues to escalate. Every one of those 1,457 assaults represents a failure to protect people in state custody. And at the current trajectory, next year's figures will likely be even worse.

(Source: Ministry of Justice, Safety in Custody -- safety-in-custody-assaults-dec-23 -- 3_3_Assaults_by_age)