As arrests were made during Britain First protests and debates rage over online safety, there's a workplace violence story nobody's talking about: Britain's prisons have become dramatically safer for the people who work in them.

In 1942, prison staff faced 182 assaults per 1,000 prisoners. By 1998, that figure had collapsed to just 44 per 1,000. That's a 76% drop over 56 years, making today's prison staff safer than any generation since the Second World War.

This isn't the story we tell ourselves about prisons. Headlines focus on overcrowding, early releases, and rising reoffending rates. But the data shows something remarkable: the people who spend their days managing Britain's most dangerous criminals are far less likely to be attacked than their predecessors. (Source: Ministry of Justice, Safety in Custody -- Safety-in-custody-summary-q3-2024_final_table_accessible -- Table_4)

What changed? The numbers suggest a fundamental shift in how British prisons operate. In 1942, prisons were brutal, understaffed places where violence was routine. Staff had few protections, limited training, and worked in conditions that would be unrecognisable today.

The transformation didn't happen overnight. The steepest drop in staff assaults occurred during the post-war decades, as Britain rebuilt its institutions with different principles. Better training, improved security measures, and changes in prison culture all played a part.

This matters because it challenges our assumptions about where workplace violence is headed. While 44 assaults per 1,000 prisoners still means thousands of prison officers face violence each year, the trend shows that even in Britain's most challenging workplaces, sustained reform can work.

The timing is significant. As politicians grapple with online safety and street protests capture headlines, the quiet success story inside our prison walls suggests that institutional change, when properly resourced and sustained over decades, can deliver results that seemed impossible.

Yet this progress remains largely invisible in public debate. Prison reform advocates focus on prisoner conditions and reoffending rates. Politicians talk about being tough on crime. But the people who actually work with dangerous criminals every day have seen their safety improve dramatically.

The question isn't whether prisons are perfect workplaces. They're not. But the data shows that making dangerous jobs safer is possible, even in the most challenging environments. That's a lesson worth remembering as Britain faces other workplace safety challenges.