Undercover police officers have started a new campaign to crack down on men catcalling female runners – by posing as joggers themselves.
Surrey Police sent two officers out running at rush hour to show the scale of harassment that women are facing.
‘These behaviours may not be criminal offences in themselves, but they need to be addressed,’ a spokesman for the force said about the patrols.
The campaign, however, has been criticised by free speech activists who said the police should be focusing on enforcing existing laws.
A spokesperson for the Free Speech Union said the tactic amounted to ‘bizarre social-psychology experiments’.
It comes as reporters from the news outlet LBC joined officers on patrol during the evening rush hour in Reigate, Surrey.
During the operation, plain clothes police officers, who were dressed in athletic jogging gear, headed to areas identified as ‘harassment hotspots’.
Meanwhile, specialist units waited nearby to intervene at the first sign of abuse.
Undercover police officers have started a new campaign to crack down on men catcalling female runners – by posing as joggers themselves. PC Abby Hayward is pictured on the left
PC Abby Hayward, one of the police officers who posed as a jogger, said that catcalling is something many women are subjected to every day
According to LBC, the two female undercover cops were ‘targeted within minutes’ by a man in a large truck who ‘honked at them and made gestures out the window’.
Inspector John Vale said: ‘One of our officers was honked at within ten minutes — then another vehicle slowed down, beeping and making gestures just 30 seconds later – that’s how frequent it is.
‘Someone slowing down, staring, shouting – even if it’s not always criminal – it can have a huge impact on people’s everyday lives and stops women from doing something as simple as going for a run.
‘We have to ask: is that person going to escalate? Are they a sexual offender? We want to manage that risk early.’
PC Abby Hayward, one of the police officers who posed as a jogger, said that catcalling is something many women are subjected to every day.
She said that the behaviour was ‘so common’ and that it needed to be addressed.
Surrey Police said that since they launched the ‘Jog On’ campaign four weeks ago, 18 arrests have been made for various offences including sexual assault and theft.
Inspector Vale added: ‘We know that this kind of harassment is significantly under reported thanks to a study carried out by Surrey County Council this year, which revealed that of 450 female residents surveyed, 49 per cent never reported.
Inspector John Vale (pictured) said that one of the officers was honked at within ten minutes
‘To date, we have made a number of interventions following reports of harassment of our plain clothes runners.
‘In these cases, it was deemed appropriate to provide education around anti-social behaviour.
‘For repeat offenders or where the behaviour is more serious, we will robustly pursue all criminal justice outcomes.
‘We recognise this is a significant worry for women and girls, and we’ll continue to patrol running routes throughout Redhill.’
He continued: ‘This type of harassment isn’t just being experienced by communities in Reigate and Banstead, but communities across the whole of Surrey, and it’s unacceptable.
‘We have female officers and staff members who have been the subject to such behaviour when off duty.
‘The message I would like to impart to perpetrators is this; your actions will not be tolerated.
‘Please reflect and ask yourself ‘is this how you would treat or want your partner, mother, sister to be treated?’
‘The next time you see a female jogger, just think, they could be a police officer with colleagues nearby ready to stop you. Your behaviour is not welcome in Surrey.’
