Surrey police have initiated a month-long policing trial to crack down on harassment of women who choose to run outdoors. In a more proactive measure, plainclothes female officers, like PC Abby Hayward, took to the streets as pretend joggers in neighborhoods noted as harassment hot spots. This new program comes in direct response to shocking statistics. Almost 3 out of 4 women alter their physical activity habits during the winter season.
During its pilot phase, the program led to 18 arrests for offenses ranging from aggravated harassment and sex crimes to robbery and stalking. The trial sought to send a message to would-be offenders and instill a greater sense of safety among women who like to exercise outdoors.
PC Abby Hayward’s experience while undercover reflected an all too familiar experience for many women. Reports indicate that nearly half of female runners in one region of Surrey did not report harassment incidents to the police. A recent study by the University of Manchester found even more disturbing outcomes. More than two-thirds of the surveyed women in north-west England indicated that they had been harassed while running. The most common kinds of harassment documented involved verbal harassment, threats and intimidation, and even projectiles and other objects being thrown at them.
Insp Jon Vale, who heads up Surrey’s violence against women and girls safer spaces project. Predictably, he stressed the need for early intervention. He said when the stop sign is the person who slows down, stares, or shouts, it has a huge impact on individuals’ day-to-day lives. This type of intimidation can prevent women from taking simple actions, like going out for a run. We have to ask: ‘Is that person going to escalate? Are they a sexual offender?’ We want to manage that risk early.
Taking cues from other successful initiatives, the pilot program sent uniformed officers into bars, clubs, and main streets. This effort focused particularly on nighttime hours to improve pedestrian safety. Unlike the lawnmower event, this time cops quickly stepped forward to wear shorts and run. Specialist units were poised to deploy if any cases of harassment were detected. One officer had received her first honk in under ten minutes of beginning her shift — amazing. Conversely, one officer found herself in front of an aggressive driver within 30 seconds.
Insp Vale commented on the outcomes of the initiative: “To date, we have made a number of interventions following reports of harassment of our plainclothes runners. In these cases, it was deemed appropriate to provide education around antisocial behaviour.”
PC Hayward further elaborated on the significance of these interventions: “This behaviour is either a precursor to something more serious, or it’s ignorance and it’s fixable. That’s where our interventions come in: to stop potential repeat offenders or help people understand that what they’re doing isn’t OK.”