The Isle of Man Constabulary released the details in response to a Freedom of Information (FoI) request.
It reveals that 10 children had been strip-searched between January 1 and July 15 this year without the presence of an independent adult - be it a parent or family member, a social or care worker or an appropriate adult.
In 2024, this happened 15 times and in 2023, 10. The figures for 2020, 2021 and 2022 were 16, 15 and 12 respectively. Between June 1 and December 31 in 2019 there were four.
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Police said data before June 1, 2019 was not held by the force.
In its FoI response, the Constabulary explained that an independent adult is called to attend custody when a juvenile is strip-searched but the youth is given the choice for the adult to be present in the room during the search.
It said that on some occasions a strip search is conducted before the attendance of an independent adult for the juvenile’s safety - for instance if they are being violent or aggressive.
In a statement, the Constabulary said it adheres to the Police Powers & Procedures Act 1998 and the relevant Code of Practice in relation to the strip searching of juveniles - as it also does with adults.
It said: ‘On reviewing both the 2024 and 2025 data provided for the FoI, nearly all of the searches have had appropriate adults present in the custody suite at the time of the search.
‘The law allows the juvenile to make representations to have the adult present in the actual room when a search is conducted but they can refuse to have them present should they wish. This decision is undertaken in conjunction with the appropriate adult and recorded on the custody record.
‘It is mandatory for an appropriate adult to be contacted in all cases where a juvenile is detained in custody - this is regardless to whether they are strip searched or not.
‘The times when an appropriate adult has not been in custody during a search have been when the detainee was too violent to wait for their attendance, or there was a perceived immediate risk of harm to delay the search.’
It added: ‘All searches of juveniles have been undertaken by at least two police officers (this may be more if there is violence involved) as per the legislation.
‘In addition to this, the method of strip search is undertaken in as respectful a way as possible in stages, as per the codes of practice, where the situation allows.’
The Constabulary said it is not current practice for juveniles in police detention to have safeguarding referrals made in all instances.
It said it follows best practice adopted by the College of Policing and should the College implement and adopt any changes with regards to the searching of juveniles, it will review the changes and consider the implementation of them locally.