While Keir Starmer faces criticism for "appeasing" big tech firms over online safety, a different kind of violence has been exploding behind prison walls. Serious assaults in Britain's jails surged by 64% in a single year, reaching levels not seen in recent memory.

In 2022, there were 23.7 serious assault incidents per 1,000 prisoners. By 2023, that figure had rocketed to 39 per 1,000. To put that in context: if you locked up 1,000 people today, 39 of them would be victims of serious assault within a year. (Source: Ministry of Justice, Safety in Custody)

This wasn't gradual decline. This was a cliff edge.

The timeline tells a story of cascading failures. For years, prison populations swelled while officer numbers fell. Overcrowding became the norm, not the exception. Drug smuggling via drones and corrupt staff created black markets inside supposedly secure facilities. Gang rivalries that started on street corners continued behind bars, but now with nowhere to escape.

The pandemic years masked some of this. Lockdowns meant fewer prisoners, fewer visits, fewer opportunities for violence. Courts barely functioned. Sentencing slowed. For a brief moment, the pressure valve released slightly.

Then 2022 arrived. Courts reopened fully. Sentencing resumed. The prison population began climbing again, but the infrastructure hadn't recovered. Officer shortages persisted. Mental health support remained threadbare. The powder keg was primed.

What changed between 2022 and 2023? The cost-of-living crisis hit prison staff as hard as anyone. Experienced officers left for better-paid jobs elsewhere. Training new recruits takes months. Meanwhile, prisoners arrived more desperate, more damaged, more likely to lash out.

The violence isn't random. These are serious assaults requiring hospital treatment, involving weapons, causing lasting injury. Every incident represents someone's son, brother, father suffering grievous harm while supposedly in state care.

Compare this to the online safety debate dominating headlines. Ministers agonise over tech companies' responsibilities for digital harm while ignoring physical violence in institutions they directly control. Prison assaults don't generate viral hashtags or newspaper campaigns, but they're happening to real people right now.

The numbers suggest this isn't just a bad year. It's a system breaking down. When violence increases by nearly two-thirds in twelve months, that's not statistical noise. That's institutional failure.

Every serious assault costs the NHS money, traumatises victims and perpetrators alike, and makes rehabilitation harder. Violent prisons don't create peaceful citizens. They create people more likely to reoffend, more damaged than when they went in.

While politicians debate regulating Silicon Valley, British prisons are becoming more dangerous by the month. The timeline shows exactly when we lost control.