Undercover police joggers are catching catcallers in the UK

Stepping outside for a nature walk or just to run some errands, something like this looks extremely normal, right

A woman getting her exercise in with a nice jog. But in the UK, there may be more than meets the eye in a police force's latest Jog On campaign

Surrey police in the UK launched a month-long crackdown using undercover woman officers posing as joggers to catch cat collars

and the result 18 people arrested. The BBC tagged along for a run in July and reported within 20

minutes the runners had already experienced harassment. One undercover officer told the

independent she just hopes people will realize it is harassment and it is not okay. In a press

release Surrey inspector John Vale says for repeat offenders or where the behavior is more serious

we will robustly pursue all criminal justice outcomes. We recognize this is a significant worry for women and girls and will continue to patrol running routes throughout Red Hill A 2024 study by the University of Manchester asked 498 women who regularly exercise about their experiences

68% said they'd been harassed, but only 5% reported incidents to the police

The Guardian reports other police forces, like the Metropolitan Police in London, have also tried safety programs

including a buddy system for women's run clubs, but Inspector Vail says the message in Surrey is clear

Street harassment is not welcome, and the next time you try to stop a female jogger, she just might be an officer

Now, here in the U.S., there's no national jogging sting like Surrey, but some cities are taking action against street harassment

Washington, D.C. enacted a Street Harassment Prevention Act in 2018 and groups like Right to Be trained people on how to safely intervene as bystanders

With Straight Arrow News, I'm Kennedy Felton. Download our app or visit san.com for more