Attacks on staff by D.C. Jail inmates are escalating, and the Department of Corrections blames an “aging workforce” and a growing number of prisoners with mental illness as parts of the problem.

There were 48 assaults on staff in fiscal 2005, up from 33 in 2004. The assaults are defined as an inmate purposely attacking an officer or other staff member using a weapon — including fluids, body parts, sharp or blunt objects — in a manner that results in medical attention.