Earlier this month, the Isle of Man’s Chief Constable submitted his annual report to Tynwald. There are some remarkable statistics in the report, such that the Isle of Man Police say that they conduct twice as many stop searches in the Isle of Man per capita as are conducted in the UK. The annual report also reveals that 79% of stop searches in the Isle of Man find no stolen or prohibited items.

According to the Isle of Man Police, “There were over 13 stop searches [in IOM] for every 1,000 people on the Island during 2019-20. This is double the number conducted in UK where there were nearly 7 stop searches for every 1,000 people for the most recent year for which data is available.”

A UK police officer conducts a stop-search in London. The Isle of Man Police say that they conduct twice as many such searches, per-capita.

Several years ago, I was stopped by IOM in the street on suspicion of carrying a stolen magnum of prosecco. Obviously, I had not stolen it.