Drone incidents at Isle of Man Prison

Summary

A request was made for details on drone incidents, seizures, and smuggled items at Isle of Man Prison between 2020 and 2025, but the Department of Home Affairs refused to disclose any information.

Key Facts

• The request covered drone sightings and incidents at Isle of Man Prison at Jurby from January 1, 2020, to November 1, 2025.
• The Department of Home Affairs withheld all information citing Section 32(1) of the Freedom of Information Act 2015.
• The exemption was applied because disclosure could prejudice the maintenance of security and good order in the prison.
• The authority determined that the public interest in maintaining security outweighed the interest in transparency.
• The requester was informed of their right to an internal review or an appeal to the Information Commissioner.

Data Disclosed

• January 1, 2020
• November 1, 2025
• November 6, 2025
• December 5, 2025
• 5065073

Exemptions Cited

• Section 32(1) of the Freedom of Information Act 2015 (Law Enforcement)
• Prejudice to the maintenance of security and good order in institutions under the Custody Act 1995

Original Request

Could you please provide details of the number of drone sightings or incidents around Isle of Man Prison at Jurby between January 1, 2020 and November 1, 2025? Could you break down those numbers by each year? Could you please provide details on what action was taken in each case and whether the drones were seized, broken down by each year? Of those that have been seized could you provide details of any items the drones were carrying in an attempt to smuggle them into prison (e.g. drugs, mobile phones, weapons, etc.), again broken down by each year?

Data Tables (1)

Full Response Text

Freedom of Information Coordinator DHA Headquarters Tromode Road, Douglas, Isle of Man, IM2 5AP

Telephone: (01624) 687017 Web address: www.gov.im/dha
Email: DPO-DHA@dha.gov.im

Our ref: 5065073 5th December 2025

Dear ###

We write further to your request, received 6 November 2025, which states:

"Could you please provide details of the number of drone sightings or incidents around Isle of Man Prison at Jurby between January 1, 2020 and November 1, 2025? Could you break down those numbers by each year?

Could you please provide details on what action was taken in each case and whether the drones were seized, broken down by each year?

Of those that have been seized could you provide details of any items the drones were carrying in an attempt to smuggle them into prison (e.g. drugs, mobile phones, weapons, etc.), again broken down by each year?"

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the information is exempt under section 32(1) of the act (Law Enforcement) as disclosure of this information would be likely to ‘prejudice the maintenance of security and good order in institutions’ (within the meaning of the Custody Act 1995) where persons are lawfully detained.

As section 32 is a qualified exemption, the department has considered the public interest where disclosing this information.

Factors in favour of disclosure Public interest in transparency and accountability

Factors in favour of withholding The nature of the request could be interpreted as a test of the prisons security and intelligence systems.
It is conceivable that should an individual fly a drone in the vicinity of the prison, they may wish to use this information to assess whether it was detected, logged, and reported. Disclosing such information could inadvertently reveal any operational capabilities or vulnerabilities, which would not be in the interest of maintaining the safety and security of the facility.

In taking these factors into account, the Department of Home Affairs determined that the factors in favour of maintaining the exemption outweigh the factors in favour of disclosing the information.

Please quote the reference number 5065073 in any future communications.

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.