British Police Went Undercover As Joggers To Catch Catcallers — And Ended Up Arresting Multiple Men

What started as casual harassment ended with handcuffs for some.

In an unusual undercover operation, female police officers in England dressed in tight-fitting jogging clothes to blend in as everyday runners. Their goal was to deliberately draw out catcallers — and then arrest the men who approached them inappropriately, according to a recent report.

The Surrey Police Department launched this one-month trial task force, which ultimately led to 18 arrests for a mix of offenses including sexual assault, harassment, and theft, the Telegraph reported.

These undercover officers were strategically placed during the busy rush hour at “hot spots”, areas known for frequent open harassment toward women, according to the report. Their role was to blend into the environment and act like ordinary joggers going about their routines.

“One of our officers was honked at within 10 minutes — then another vehicle slowed down, beeping and making gestures just 30 seconds later — that’s how frequent it is.” Inspector Jon Vale of SPD explained to the outlet, giving an example of how quickly harassment incidents happened.

One of the officers involved said that what she encountered during the sting wasn’t surprising to her at all — in fact, it matched the kind of harassment she experiences regularly while living in Surrey.

“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 recognized as such.” Officer Abby Hayward told the Telegraph, stressing that these behaviors are not just common but harmful.

“This behavior is either a precursor to something more serious — or it’s ignorance and it’s fixable.” the officer added, pointing out that it can sometimes lead to worse incidents or be corrected if addressed early.

Inspector Jon Vale called the harassment of women in the area frequent.LBC

“That’s where our interventions come in: to stop potential repeat offenders or help people understand that what they’re doing isn’t OK.” she noted, explaining the reasoning behind the proactive approach.

However, the program hasn’t been without controversy. Critics, including the Free Speech Union, described the sting as a “bizarre social-psychology experiment,” and argued that police resources would be better spent simply enforcing existing laws, according to the outlet.

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