New UCLA Study Finds Decades of Pervasive Law Enforcement Mistreatment of LGBTQ People in the U.S.

A new report from the Williams Institute at the University of California Los Angeles School of Law finds that mistreatment of LGBTQ people by law enforcement in the United States is “pervasive and ongoing,” drawing on 25 years of empirical research on police–LGBTQ interactions. The 59-page analysis synthesizes more than two dozen studies and surveys conducted between the late 1990s and 2024 by organizations including the American Civil Liberties Union , the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs, the Williams Institute itself, and multiple local government agencies.

Lead author Joshua Arrayales of the Williams Institute said the research shows that negative experiences with police can shape whether LGBTQ people feel able to seek help when needed, noting that “experiences of police mistreatment may discourage LGBTQ people from reporting crimes or engaging with law enforcement.”

Across the body of research reviewed, the report concludes that LGBTQ people are more likely than non-LGBTQ people to report being stopped by police, searched, arrested, and falsely accused of an offense. Survey respondents in multiple studies also described substantial rates of verbal harassment, physical abuse, sexual harassment, and assault by officers, including incidents that required medical attention.

The report identifies transgender and gender-nonconforming people, LGBTQ people of color, and LGBTQ youth as groups that consistently report higher levels of police profiling, entrapment, and harassment. For example, prior research cited in the report has documented that transgender women of color frequently experience aggressive stop‑and‑frisk practices, misgendering, and invasive searches ostensibly aimed at determining their gender, contributing to a climate of fear and distrust.

In addition to large-scale surveys, the Williams Institute analysis includes lawsuits and individual case reports that illustrate patterns of misconduct. One case highlighted is a 2018 incident in Palo Alto, California, in which a gay man alleged that police slammed him against a car and windshield during a traffic stop and mocked him in a “flamboyant, high-pitched” voice; the city later settled the lawsuit.

The Williams Institute report is being released as national crime statistics show a rising number of anti-LGBTQ hate crimes and as advocates draw attention to deadly encounters between law enforcement and LGBTQ people. The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s 2023 Crime in the Nation report found that for the second consecutive year, more than one in five reported hate crimes in the United States were motivated by anti-LGBTQ bias. Research cited by the Human Rights Campaign in response to that data warns that Black transgender women and other transgender women of color face a particularly elevated risk of deadly violence.

In Los Angeles, the family of transgender woman Linda Becerra Moran filed a lawsuit after she was shot by a Los Angeles Police Department officer in February 2024, following her own 911 call from a San Fernando motel where she said she was being held against her will. Video released by the Los Angeles Police Department showed officers confronting Moran with weapons drawn; she was shot, placed on life support, and died three weeks later, according to reporting by the Los Angeles Blade . The TransLatin@ Coalition organized a vigil outside Los Angeles Police Department headquarters and stated that Moran’s killing “speaks to the disregard for trans lives” and a lack of de‑escalation tactics.

Advocacy groups say the Williams Institute findings underscore longstanding calls for structural reforms in policing and for better protections for LGBTQ people in custody. In response to previous federal data, Human Rights Campaign president Kelley Robinson urged policymakers to strengthen non‑discrimination protections, improve hate crime reporting, and reject political rhetoric that targets LGBTQ communities.

At the same time, some government actions have raised concern among advocates working on conditions in prisons and jails. In early 2024, a U.S. Department of Justice memo directed prison inspectors to stop using certain standards specifically designed to evaluate how facilities protect transgender and other LGBTQ incarcerated people, according to reporting by LAist . Prison rights advocates cited by LAist warned that deprioritizing these standards could make it harder to monitor safety for LGBTQ people behind bars.

Some law enforcement agencies, including the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, have attempted to build specialized outreach programs and advisory councils for LGBTQ communities, emphasizing channels for reporting discrimination and seeking support. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s LGBTQ+ Community page states that its goal is to “help bridge the gap between law enforcement and our LGBTQ+ community” and invites community members to contact a dedicated email address for assistance.

Researchers at the Williams Institute conclude that sustained policy changes, independent oversight, and community‑driven safety strategies are necessary to reduce disparities in policing and ensure that LGBTQ people can seek help without fear of mistreatment. They emphasize that documenting patterns of abuse is only a first step, and that improved data collection, including explicit questions about sexual orientation and gender identity in policing and crime surveys, will be essential for monitoring progress over time.