A burgeoning research literature from the United States documents that contact with law enforcement—particularly interactions characterized by intrusion (i.e., use of intrusive verbal or physical force) and harassment (i.e., actions to make one feel inferior based on appearance, identity, or demographic background)—are unequally stratified across society, with adverse experiences with the police disproportionately endured by individuals with minoritized racial and ethnic identities [1], [2]. Importantly, ample research links intrusive or harassing police contact with profound repercussions for physical and mental health and diminished life trajectories, even after accounting for involvement in criminal activity [3], [4], [5], [6], [7], [8], [9], [10], [11], [12], [13], [14], [15]. Less research has investigated disparities in police contact across sexual orientation, especially outside the United States. Understanding sexual minorities’ experiences with the police is critical, considering the long history of criminalization of sexual minority persons in North America [16], [17], [18], and because sexual minorities are overrepresented among those who experience criminal victimization [19], [20], [21], incarceration [22], [23], and express more negative views and perceptions of the police relative to heterosexual persons [24], [25], [26], [27], [28].

The few studies examining experiences with police contact across sexual orientation are largely from the United States. A study of 1184 individuals adults in Chicago found that compared to heterosexual persons, bisexual individuals reported a higher incidence of police contact in the prior five years [29]. Using a national sample in the United States among persons ages 18–25, Schwartz et al. found that relative to heterosexual youth, sexual minority youth had higher odds of ever being stopped by the police, were stopped more often, and were stopped at a younger age on average [30]. In a national sample of adults ages 33–44, Baćak and colleagues found that among women, sexual minorities had elevated odds of experiencing a lifetime police encounter perceived as unfair relative to women who identified as heterosexual, with no consistent pattern found among men [31]. One study in Canada using the 2019 General Social Survey found that lesbian or gay Canadians (31%) and bisexual Canadians (25%) were less likely to report having a great deal of confidence in the police relative to heterosexual Canadians (42%). Still, there were no differences between sexual minority Canadians and heterosexual Canadians reporting having contact with police in the past year [27].

Notwithstanding this literature, significant gaps remain. First, except for one study [27], there is a lack of research on experiences with the police by sexual orientation status in Canada. In particular, no research has investigated how adverse experiences, such as police contact with intrusion or harassment, differ by sexual identity in Canada. While Canada and the United States—where most existing research has been conducted—share many similarities, Canadian culture, and policy has been more progressive in championing LGBTQ rights throughout the 19th and 20th century [17], [18], [32]. Second, there is a lack of detail on whether disparities in police stops include experiences with verbal or physical intrusion or harassment based on an individual’s appearance, identity, or demographic background. Notably, a growing body of research details that interactions with police characterized by unjust intrusion or harassment particularly damage health, well-being, and developmental outcomes [4], [5], [6], [7], [9], [11], [12], [33], [34]. Thus, investigating particulars of what occurred during a police encounter by sexual orientation is critical for health equity.

Using data on adolescents and young adults from Canada, the current study aims to fill these gaps by examining the relationship between sexual orientation and experiences with police contact and police contact featuring intrusion or harassment. Based on the findings from prior literature, we hypothesize the following relationships:

H1: Sexual minority individuals will be more likely than heterosexual individuals to report having experienced any police contact.

H2: Sexual minority individuals will be more likely than heterosexual individuals to report police contact with intrusion.

H3: Sexual minority individuals will be more likely than heterosexual individuals to report police contact with harassment.

Finally, given the limited literature on differences in patterns of police contact between gay/lesbian, bisexual, and other sexual minority groups, we posit an exploratory hypothesis (H4) that assesses whether there are differences in police contact, police contact with harassment, and police contact with intrusion between heterosexual, gay/lesbian, bisexual, and queer, questioning, or other persons.