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Report
The Role of Police Perceptions of Gender Variation in California Police Stops
A research note
July 2026
This study uses data collected under California’s Racial and Identity Profiling Act, which requires officers to record their subjective perceptions of every person they stop. The study examines how officers’ perceptions of an individual’s gender influence search and arrest outcomes during vehicle and pedestrian stops in California.
Highlights
People perceived as transgender are searched and arrested at higher rates than those perceived as cisgender.
People perceived as transgender were searched at higher rates than those perceived as cisgender or gender nonconforming.
Contraband discovery was similar across groups, but those perceived as transgender were arrested at the highest rate.
Data Points