Undercover cops pose as joggers to nab catcallers, arresting 18. Critics call it “rage baiting”

Police in Surrey, England, have launched a month-long undercover operation aimed at curbing street harassment, sending female officers jogging through known
harassment hotspots" to catch catcallers in the act.

The tactic, which has resulted in 18 arrests so far, has drawn both praise and scorn online, with critics accusing police of wasting resources and supporters arguing it’s a necessary intervention against behavior that often escalates into more serious offenses.

This week, LBC posted a clip to TikTok about the ongoing effort to curtail catcalling in Surrey.

"You get honked at. They're staring, they're hanging out the window just to look at us," one officer told LBC. "And it's so, so, so prevalent."

Once someone starts harassing the women, nearby officers in police vehicles will swarm up and pull them over.

Inspector Jon Vale told LBC that the behavior on display isn't always criminal, but addressing it head-on like this at least gives them the opportunity to "provide education around antisocial behaviour."

"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 said. "We have to ask: 'Is that person going to escalate? Are they a sexual offender?' We want to manage that risk early."

Critics accuse cops of "rage baiting"

Some reactions to the pilot program were either incredulous or outraged.

"Has all real crime been solved in England?" @thebadgolfer2626 asked.

"At this point, it feels like the [police] are literally just rage baiting," one person suggested, while another called trying to stop catcalling "a complete waste of taxpayers money."

"Wow a little beep and the cops pull you over...what a weak government," said @svenskdownunder.

A number of people in the TikTok comments seemed irritated at the idea that police might be stopping people over something that isn't a "real crime." As many pointed out, harassment certainly can be a crime, so the specifics will vary from incident to incident. But it is, as Vale said, "antisocial behaviour," and something that has a real, measurable impact on women's lives.

In defense of addressing catcalling

Vale also pointed out that the harassment of the undercover officers was so prevalent that there would sometimes be multiple incidents within a single minute. 

"This behaviour is either a precursor to something more serious, or it’s ignorance and it’s fixable," PC Abby Hayward told LBC. "That’s where our interventions come in: to stop potential repeat offenders or help people understand that what they’re doing isn’t okay."

And while some clearly just don't understand why this matters and don't care to, there were plenty of reactions to the report that made it crystal clear why something like this is, for once, a good use of police resources.

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