"Why Call the Police?": LGBTQ+ Youth Perspectives on Law Enforcement Responses to Identity-Based Harm

Background and Purpose

There has been a growing trend to frame youth identity-based harm as "hate crimes" rather than "bullying," with increasing calls from policymakers and advocates to involve law enforcement in incidents previously handled within school disciplinary systems. This shift toward criminalization positions police as the presumed appropriate responders to such incidents. However, little research has examined how LGBTQ+ youth—who experience disproportionate rates of both identity-based harm and negative police interactions—perceive law enforcement's role in addressing identity-based harm among youth. This study explores LGBTQ+ youth perspectives on police involvement in responding to identity-based harm, contextualizing these views within their broader experiences with law enforcement.

Methods

This qualitative study, a collaboration between university researchers and an LGBTQ+ youth-led gender and racial justice organization, involved semi-structured interviews with 25 LGBTQ+ youth aged 14-18 across the United States. Participants, 85% of whom identified as transgender and 52% as youth of color, resided in 14 different states with 56% living in the South. Interviews explored participants' experiences with and perceptions of law enforcement as responders to identity-based harm. Data were analyzed using the Rigorous and Accelerated Data Reduction (RADaR) Technique and critical discourse analysis to identify themes related to power, institutional trust, and safety.

Results

Participants expressed profound skepticism about law enforcement's ability to effectively address youth identity-based harm. They consistently referenced historical and contemporary police violence against LGBTQ+ communities, particularly BIPOC LGBTQ+ people, situating their individual perspectives within a collective LGBTQ+ identity shaped by institutional distrust. As one participant noted, "Stonewall was a riot against the police... a significant amount of people, especially younger people, don't feel safe around the police." Participants centered racial identity in their analysis, articulating how intersecting marginalized identities compound vulnerability during police interactions. They emphasized that even when individual officers established positive relationships through community engagement, this trust rarely extended to law enforcement broadly. Most participants advocated for exhausting all other resources before involving police, stating law enforcement should be "a very, very last ditch effort after like every other resource has been exhausted."

Conclusions and Implications

This study reveals a fundamental contradiction in the growing criminalization of youth identity-based harm: the very populations the hate crime frame purportedly protects—particularly LGBTQ+ youth of color—express significant concerns about increased law enforcement involvement. Findings challenge the assumption that criminal legal responses best serve marginalized youth and highlight the need for alternative, community-based approaches. The results suggest that policy initiatives focusing on strengthening hate crime laws and increasing police presence in schools may overlook the complex relationships LGBTQ+ youth have with law enforcement and potentially create additional barriers to reporting and addressing identity-based harm. These insights are crucial for developing more effective and responsive interventions that align with the expressed needs and preferences of LGBTQ+ youth.