Undercover police pose as runners to catch cat-callers harassing women

14 August 2025, 15:49

By Alice Dear

Police officers in Surrey have launched a new campaign in a bid to help tackle the harassment of women while they exercise.

Undercover police officers are posing as runners in a part in Surrey to catch out people wolf whistling and harassing women attempting to exercise.

The campaign, launched by Surrey Police and called Jog On, is an initiation which "forms part of a force-wide priority to tackling violence against women and girls in Surrey".

Cat-calling, sexual comments and harassment towards women is "significantly under reported", Reigate and Banstead Commander, Inspector Jon Vale said, before adding that they have made a "number of interventions" following "reports of harassment of the plain clothes runners".

One of the undercover police officers, PC Abby Hayward, said that catcalling is something many women are subjected to every day, reflecting that the behaviour is "so common" and needs to be addressed.

While many people have shown support for the Jog On campaign, there has been some negative reactions, including from The Free Speech Union.

In a statement, they wrote: "Britain is in the grip of a surge in serious crime. In the year to March 2025, shoplifting rose 20 per cent, theft from the person climbed 15 per cent, and robberies topped 78,000. And Surrey Police's answer? "Jog On": a county-wide sting in which female officers, dressed as joggers, run through public spaces trailed by squad cars, ready to swoop on anyone who cat-calls, wolf-whistles or makes sexually suggestive comments.

"Perhaps Surrey Police should take their own advice and "just think" about whether prowling the streets in search of lawful but disapproved remarks is really the best use of police time in a county, and a country, grappling with so many actual crimes."

Despite this, Surrey Police are still pushing the initiative, with Inspector Jon Vale explaining in more detail: “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% 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.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Surrey Police (@surreypolice)

With the campaign, every crime report that they receive will be dealt with in a victim-centred approach, which will engage with local partners to "ensure accessible specialist support for those affected".

Jog On's manifesto states: "Proactively identifying and targeting perpetrators is key, whether through standalone operations or managing high-harm perpetrators alongside other agencies."

Inspector Jon Vale highlighted the issue of women's safety, saying: "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."

He also issued a warning to harassers: "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."

During a conversation with LBC, John Vale revelled that two female undercover police officers were "targeted within minutes" by a man in a large truck who "honked at them and made gestures out the window."

"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," he explained: "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."

He added: "We have to ask: is that person going to escalate? Are they a sexual offender? We want to manage that risk early."