Drugs - Search warrants executed

Summary

The Isle of Man Constabulary responded to a Freedom of Information request for data on drug-related search warrants executed between January 2019 and October 2020, disclosing details of 43 relevant premises searches including forced entry, officer numbers, and seizure values.

Key Facts

• A total of 43 relevant premises searches were identified in the period from January 2019 to October 2020.
• Searches conducted under Section 21.1 powers, such as those after detention or voluntary searches, were excluded from the review.
• Data for searches prior to June 17, 2019, was retrieved from an obsolete system.
• The response includes specific details on forced entry, number of officers, drugs seized, street value, arrests, and charges for each search.
• Some data points regarding minors and specific drug values are marked as 'Unknown' or 'Not Known'.

Data Disclosed

• 43
• 2019-01-01
• 2020-10-31
• 2019-06-17
• £21
• £8
• £16.56
• £5.14
• £2.52
• £28
• £16
• £2
• £12
• £49.35
• £16.84
• £332
• £44
• £508
• £23.80
• £1,836
• £180
• £3,416
• £54

Original Request

How many search warrants have been issued to the date of this request (31/10/2020) permitting police to recover drugs specifically, from a property on the Isle of Man? From Jan 1st 2019. I wish for the data of each search to be broken down by the following components: Did the search require forced entry? Was force applied to any adult persons present? Was force applied to any minors present? How many officers attended each search? Was substance seized? If yes, what type of drug? What was the street value of the amount recovered? Was an arrest made? If yes, was there a charge? If yes, was there a caution? Was a minor was on the warrant with the homeowner, and if they were present during the search?

Data Tables (2)

Full Response Text

Isle of Man Constabulary Freedom of Information Police Headquarters Dukes Avenue Douglas Isle of Man IM2 4RG

Our ref: 1538550 16 November 2020

Dear ###

We write further to your request which was received on 2 November 2020 and which states:

"How many search warrants have been issued to the date of this request (31/10/2020) permitting police to recover drugs specifically, from a property on the Isle of Man? From Jan 1st 2019. I wish for the data of each search to be broken down by the following components: Did the search require forced entry? Was force applied to any adult persons present? Was force applied to any minors present? How many officers attended each search? Was substance seized? If yes, what type of drug? What was the street value of the amount recovered? Was an arrest made? If yes, was there a charge? If yes, was there a caution? Was a minor was on the warrant with the homeowner, and if they were present during the search?"

Our response to your request is as follows: I have detailed below the information that is being released to you.

Please quote the reference number 1538550 in any future communications. The request covers two periods when data was recorded on different systems. For data recorded up to 17/06/2019 an obsolete system was reviewed. Use of the Section 21.1 power, which do not require a warrant signed by a magistrate – searches after detention and voluntary searches, were not included in this review. Where stolen or prohibited items were found (question 3.a, highlighted in green) the files were reviewed to determine whether this related to drugs, and then the type and value were retrieved from the drugs seizure database. In total 43 relevant Premises searches were identified in the period.

Below is a table of results for the agreed questions (it carries over two pages). 1 2 3.a 3.b 4 5.a 5.b 6.a 6.b Date – Month/ Year Section Forced Entry Officers Attended Property Found Type of drug Street Value Arrest Made Charged Minor on warrant Minor present 01/2019 SECTION 23(3)(A) YES 6 YES DIAZEPAM £21 No No U/K U/K 01/2020 SECTION 5(2)(3) NO 4 YES Cannabis Bush £8 No No U/K U/K 01/2019 SECTION 20/SECTION 35 YES 5 YES CANNABIS £16.56 YES YES U/K U/K 02/2019 SECTION 23(3)(A) NO 5 YES CANNABIS £5.14 No No U/K 1: AGE 16 02/2019 SECTION 23(3)(A) NO 7 NO -- -- No No U/K U/K 02/2019 SECTION 35 NO 7 YES Cannabis Bush (trace) YES YES U/K U/K 02/2019 SECTION 23(3)(A) YES 6 YES WHITE POWDER TABLET (BZP) £2.52 YES YES U/K 3: AGE 14 02/2019 MDA WARRANT NO 3 YES CANNABIS AND WHITE POWDER £28 No No U/K U/K 03/2019 SECTION 35 YES 3 YES CANNABIS AND SEEDS £16 YES YES U/K U/K 03/2019 SECTION 35 NO 4 YES CANNABIS £2 YES YES U/K U/K 03/2019 SECTION 5(2)(3) YES 9 YES CANNABIS £12 No No 1: AGE 17 U/K 03/2019 SECTION 35 NO 3 YES KETAMINE £49.35 YES YES 1: AGE 16 U/K 04/2019 SECTION 23(3)(A) NO 4 NO -- -- No No U/K U/K 04/2019 SECTION 35 NO 2 YES CANNABIS £16.84 YES YES U/K U/K 06/2019 SEC23IOM NO 4 NO -- -- No No No No 06/2019 SEC23IOM YES 4 NO -- -- No No No No 07/2019 SEC23IOM NO 2 NO -- -- No No No No 07/2019 SEC23IOM YES 1 NO -- -- No -- No No 07/2019 SEC23IOM YES 6 YES Cannabis bush £12 No No No No 09/2019 SEC23IOM NO 4 YES Cannabis bush £12 YES YES No No 09/2019 SEC23IOM YES 5 YES Cannabis £6.85 YES YES No No 09/2019 SEC23IOM NO 1 YES Cannabis bush £332 YES YES No No 10/2019 SEC23IOM NO 5 NO -- -- No No No No 11/2019 SEC23IOM NO 5 YES Cannabis Bush £44 No YES No No 11/2019 SEC28IOM YES 5 YES Cannabis bush £508 YES YES No No 12/2019 SEC23IOM YES 5 NO -- -- No No No No Continued on next page…

1 2 3.a 3.b 4 5.a 5.b 6.a 6.b Date Section Forced Entry Officers Attended Property Found Type of drug Street Value Arrest Made Charged Minor on warrant Minor present 01/2020 SEC23IOM NO 7 YES Non-Drug property -- No No YES YES 01/2020 SEC23IOM NO 1 YES Cocaine £23,80 0 YES YES No No 01/2020 SEC23IOM YES 8 YES Cocaine & Cannabis £1,836 YES YES No No 01/2020 SEC35 NO 3 YES Cannabis Bush £180 No No No No 02/2020 SEC23IOM NO 8 NO -- -- No No No No 02/2020 SEC23IOM NO 3 NO -- -- No No No No 02/2020 SEC23IOM NO 1 NO -- -- No No No No 03/2020 SEC23IOM YES 3 NO -- -- No No No No 03/2020 SEC23IOM YES 6 YES 1 white tablet -- No No No No 03/2020 SEC23IOM NO 4 NO -- -- No No No No 03/2020 SEC23IOM NO 6 NO -- -- No No No No 03/2020 SEC23IOM &
SEC26 Firearms Act 1947 NO 3 NO -- -- No No No No 04/2020 SEC23IOM NO 2 NO -- -- YES No No No 04/2020 SEC23IOM YES 6 NO -- -- No -- No No 04/2020 SEC23IOM NO 4 YES Cannabis bush £3,416 YES YES No No 05/2020 SEC23IOM NO n/k YES Cannabis bush £54 YES YES No No 06/2020 SEC23IOM NO 5 YES Non-Drug property -- YES No No No Applicant asks for clarification on the meaning of N/K and U/K. This means Not Known or Unknown. That the data is not within the data held and therefore no assumption can be made as to what the response would be, however it is presumed that this would mean that there were none of that category within that particular field on the forms assessed.

Your right to request a review

If you are unhappy with this response to your freedom of information request, you may ask us to carry out an internal review of the response, by completing a complaint form and submitting it electronically or by delivery/post.

An electronic version of our complaint form can be found by going to our website at https://services.gov.im/freedom-of-information/Review . If you would like a paper version of our complaint form to be sent to you by post, please contact me and I will be happy to arrange for this. Your review request should explain why you are

dissatisfied with this response, and should be made as soon as practicable. We will respond as soon as the review has been concluded.

If you are not satisfied with the result of the review, you then have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner for a decision on; 1. Whether we have responded to your request for information in accordance with Part 2 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015; or 2. Whether we are justified in refusing to give you the information requested.
In response to an application for review, the Information Commissioner may, at any time, attempt to resolve a matter by negotiation, conciliation, mediation or another form of alternative dispute resolution and will have regard to any outcome of this in making any subsequent decision. More detailed information on your right to a review can be found on the Information Commissioner’s website at www.inforights.im. Should you have any queries concerning this letter, please do not hesitate to contact me. Further information about freedom of information requests can be found at www.gov.im/foi.

I will now close your request as of this date.

Yours sincerely