A POLICE force sent undercover cops jogging to expose vile catcallers who target women on their runs.
Two officers from Surrey Police hit the streets in sportswear to show how often women get harassed while running – and, unsurprisingly, they were “catcalled within minutes”.
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The operation, first reported by LBC, involved undercover officers jogging through areas identified as harassment “hotspots” during the evening rush hour in Reigate, Surrey.
Specialist units were close by, ready to step in if the women faced abuse, Surrey Police said.
The two officers were “targeted within minutes” by a man in a large truck who “honked at them and made gestures out the window”, according to LBC.
“These behaviours may not be criminal offences in themselves, but they need to be addressed,” a spokesperson for the force said.
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, who went undercover, said this kind of sexual harassment was a daily reality for women – and leaves her feeling “diminished” and “uneasy”.
She said: “This behaviour is either a precursor to something more serious or it’s ignorance, and it’s fixable.
“That’s where our interventions come in: to stop potential repeat offenders or help people understand that what they’re doing isn’t OK.”
Surrey Police said its ‘Jog On’ campaign – launched just four weeks ago – has led to 18 arrests, including for sexual assault and theft.
Inspector Vale said: “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.
“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.”
But the campaign has been met with criticism by the Free Speech Union, who called it a “bizarre social psychology experiment” and said police should “stop hunting pre-crimes”.
Other forces have also taken steps to tackle the sexual harassment of women runners by men.
In 2022, the Met Police launched a buddy system, with officers accompanying a women’s running club in London.
84 per cent of women have been harassed while jogging, according to a 2021 survey by Runner’s World.
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