Undercover police are posing as joggers in a bid to crack down on street harassment and catcalling.
Surrey Police are sending female officers clad in civilian jogging gear on runs in “key locations” around the county as part of new tactics designed to tackle harassment against runners.
The force said they recognised the issue was a “significant worry” for women and girls in the area, labelling it as “unacceptable”.
The campaign has seen support crews accompany female officers who have volunteered to take part from a distance, ready to swoop in if the officers experience catcalling or harassment.
The unit said they had made a “number of interventions” following harassment of undercover officers, which had resulted in “education around anti-social behaviour”.
But the Jog On campaign has attracted criticism from civil liberties group Free Speech Union, which accused the force of “bizarre social-psychology experiments” and said they should focus on “enforcing the law”.
A Surrey Police spokesperson told The Independent: “Our priority is not only to tackle and solve crime but also to prevent it from happening in the first place.”
Reigate and Banstead Commander Inspector Jon 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.”
PC Abi Hayward is one officer who volunteered to take part. Speaking in a video on the force’s Facebook page, she said she hopes the strategy will help people realise street harassment “isn’t right”.
“It’s not just a small act,” she added. “It’s a thing that can make someone feel really quite uncomfortable. I think it’s important that Surrey Police are taking it so seriously.”
The unusual tactics were first used in Reigate and Banstead and are now being rolled out in different places across the county. Police said the campaign had been inspired by their work in the night-time economy, with undercover cops also used to identify predatory behaviour in bars, clubs and town centres.
“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,” Inspector Vale said.
“We have female officers and staff members who have been the subject of 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.”
The police further encouraged anyone who experiences harassment to call them on 101 or use Surrey Police’s online reporting tool.
