Undercover Female Police Officers Pose As Joggers To Catch Catcallers

ByMF Jones

A new operation by Surrey Police has female police officers going undercover by dressing in jogging gear in order to elicit catcalls from men, reports the Telegraph.

The tactic is pretty simple: female officers jog through known catcalling hotspots in the area, while specialist police units wait nearby ready to spring into action the moment any abuse takes place.

So far – 18 arrests have been made for offences including harassment, sexual assault, and theft uncovered during the patrols.

You might think that there were more pressing criminal matters for the police to attend to, but Inspector Jon Vale explained why the operation is a priority for Surrey Police, and how catcalling can escalate into something far more serious:

“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.

“This is about protecting women and girls in public spaces and we want them to know we’re out here, and we’re taking it seriously.”

PC Abby Hayward, one of the officers involved, told LBC that the abuse she experiences on patrol reflects what many women face daily.

“We get catcalled. We get honked at. People slow down just to stare – or lean out the window to shout something. It’s so common, but it’s harassment and it needs to be recognised as that.

“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.

“The rise in violence against women and girls is real – we’re talking about women being spat at, stalked, harassed while they’re just out on a run – it’s just horrendous.

“I’m proud to be part of this. It’s long overdue – and it’s making a difference.”

Must be an awkward time at the station for the sergeant to assign which female officers he thinks will get cat-called, but I guess the type of men who cat-call don’t really discriminate too much. If the woman is slim, they’ll get sexual comments. If she’s overweight, she’ll get comments about that. If she’s got big breasts or a big bum or both? It’s game over. Women get cat-called no matter what they look like and let’s be real here: it’s completely out of order.

Still, there is some unease about the aspect of this operation that involves entrapping or even honey-trapping the cat-callers. We also need to be sure that the ones who are arrested have actually broken the law (which, from the sounds of it, has been the case thus far). I guess this is British policing in 2025. We’ll have to see how it goes and whether other police departments around the UK follow suit.

For the live-streamer who was confronted by 15-year-old girl’s dad after cat-calling her in the street, click HERE.

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