The British government just crossed a line that should terrify freedom-loving people everywhere.
Police are now using entrapment tactics to arrest men for speech crimes.
And British police used female officers as bait to arrest men and it exposed their tyrannical agenda.
Surrey Police deploy "Jog On" sting operation
Surrey Police launched what they call the "Jog On" campaign – sending female officers in athletic gear to provoke reactions from male drivers and pedestrians.
The department assigned Officer Abby Hayward and her colleagues to patrol known trouble spots during rush hour traffic.
Within ten minutes of hitting the streets, the undercover officers were getting honked at by passing motorists.
"One of our officers was honked at within 10 minutes – then another vehicle slowed down, beeping and making gestures just 30 seconds later," Inspector Jon Vale told reporters.¹
But here’s the catch – backup units were stationed nearby, ready to arrest anyone who took the bait.
The operation netted 18 arrests in its first four weeks during July for charges including harassment, sexual assault, and theft.
Surrey Police defended the controversial tactic as necessary to address widespread harassment of female runners.
Officer Hayward described her experience during the operation.
"We get catcalled. We get honked at. People slow down just to stare – or lean out the window to shout something," she explained.²
The department claims nearly half of women runners in Surrey never report harassment incidents to police according to a Surrey County Council survey of 450 women.
Civil liberties groups sound the alarm
Free speech advocates immediately spotted the problems with Surrey’s approach.
The Free Speech Union called the operation a "bizarre social-psychology experiment" rather than legitimate law enforcement.⁴
Critics argue police departments should focus their limited resources on actual violent crimes instead of manufacturing new categories of criminal behavior.
The timing raises serious questions about law enforcement priorities.
Surrey struggles with knife crime, burglary, and drug trafficking – yet police brass decided deploying attractive female officers as bait was worth the investment.
The operation essentially criminalizes behavior that would be considered rude but perfectly legal in most Western democracies.
Honking at an attractive woman. Making eye contact. Slowing down to look.
These actions might be obnoxious, but they hardly constitute serious criminal activity requiring undercover police operations.
Inspector Vale defended the program by claiming catcalling behavior "is either a precursor to something more serious – or it’s ignorance and it’s fixable."³
That logic opens dangerous doors for government overreach.
If authorities can arrest people for behavior that might lead to future crimes, where does that authority end?
Britain’s authoritarian drift accelerates
Surrey’s entrapment operation reflects a broader trend across Britain toward criminalizing speech and social interactions.
British citizens now face arrest for social media posts, off-color jokes, and apparently making gestures at joggers.
The pattern is unmistakable – expand the definition of criminal behavior until almost any human interaction becomes potentially illegal.
This creates exactly the kind of society authoritarian governments prefer – citizens who self-censor and avoid normal social interactions out of fear.
The psychological effect is profound. Men will think twice before complimenting a woman, making eye contact, or even acknowledging attractive women in public spaces.
Surrey Police claims this protects women, but it actually infantilizes them by suggesting they can’t handle rude comments without government intervention.
Real protection would involve addressing actual violent crimes and sexual assaults – not setting up elaborate stings to catch men who honk car horns.
The operation also raises troubling questions about police resources and training.
Are Surrey officers really so underworked that they have time for month-long undercover operations targeting horn-honking?
What crimes went uninvestigated while police played dress-up to catch catcallers?
The American Constitution specifically prohibits this type of government overreach through the First Amendment’s protection of free speech.
British subjects enjoy no such protections, and the results speak for themselves.
Surrey’s "Jog On" operation represents exactly why the Founding Fathers insisted on constitutional limits to government power.
Without those limits, authorities inevitably expand their control over citizens’ daily lives – one manufactured crime at a time.
British authorities have already crossed the line from protecting citizens to policing their thoughts and speech.
American observers should take careful notes about what happens when governments decide normal human behavior needs correction through criminal prosecution.
¹ LBC Staff, "Running from catcallers! LBC joins undercover female police officers," LBC, August 10, 2025.
² Ibid.
³ Ibid.
⁴ Telegraph Staff, "Police officers dress as joggers to catch men catcalling women," The Telegraph, August 12, 2025.
