California cops more likely to search & arrest people they perceive as transgenderhttps://www.lgbtqnation.com/2026/07/california-cops-more-likely-to-search-people-they-perceive-as-transgender/ 🔗John Russell (29 July 2026)
People perceived to be transgender or gender nonconforming are more likely to be searched and arrested during encounters with police in California than those perceived to be cisgender, according to a new study.
Researchers with the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law and the University of California, Irvine, examined data collected under California's Racial and Identity Profiling Act to better understand how police officers' perceptions of people's gender affect whether they are searched or arrested. The 2015 law requires police officers in the state to record their subjective perceptions of every person they encounter during pedestrian and vehicle stops.
Researchers found that while rates of contraband discovery were virtually the same across all perceived genders (26–27%), police were more likely to arrest those perceived to be transgender. Data indicated that 19% of transgender men and 20% of transgender women were arrested during police stops, compared to 10% of those perceived as cisgender men, 7% perceived as cisgender women, and 9% perceived as gender nonconforming.
According to Grasso, a research data analyst at the Williams Institute, the study indicates how policing enforces gender norms.
