Undercover Female Officers Patrolling City Streets To Catch Catcallers

Undercover female police officers are now patrolling British streets to catch drivers catcalling people passing by.

The undercover officers have already started operating in areas of Bradford where students have complained of harassment from passing cars.

Just last week, one man was pulled over after he harassed women who turned out to be the undercover officers.

As many as 97 percent of women aged 17 to 24 in the UK have been sexually harassed at some point, according to a 2021 UN Women UK study.

West Yorkshire Police's Detective Superintendent Tanya Wilkins said: "Before Christmas, officers were made aware of concerns expressed by female students of the behaviour of some drivers which made them feel threatened and unsafe, including harassing sexual comments."

Alamy

Bradford drivers shouting lewd or inappropriate comments from their vehicles could be pulled over and given a fixed penalty.

People in breach of the law could also be taken to court and fined up to £1,000.

The move to combat catcalling in the city relies of a Public Space Protection Order in force across town to stop harassment, alarm, or distress caused by people driving motor vehicles.

Using sexual language or making any sexual suggestions are banned as part of the order.

One incident last week saw undercover officers stopping a van when an occupant was caught shouting at the plain-clothes policewomen.

The driver may be taken to court for breaching the protection order and will probably receive a £100 fixed penalty.

A 27 January tweet by the enforcement team about the incident read: "Targeting people who are shouting things from their vehicles at women/girls.This will not be tolerated.

"The occupant of this vehicle shouted at undercover female officers. Reported for breach of PSPO."

Twitter

UN Women UK's study discovered over 70 percent of women in the UK had experienced sexual harassment in a public place at some point.

But with 90 percent of women in cities across the world feeling unsafe in public places, this is much bigger than a national issue.