"There is an emerging trend of steroid use in law enforcement that we're monitoring very closely," Boston Police Commissioner Edward F. Davis said. "Unfortunately, we were on the leading edge of this being disclosed."
Boston police officers were suspended for anywhere from 15 to 45 days for steroid use and other offenses in an investigation that began three years ago with the FBI arrest of a Boston police officer for trafficking cocaine. None of the officers found to be using steroids were fired, and none will face criminal charges.
The Boston Globe goes into more detail:
The disciplinary action against the officers ends one of the most embarrassing chapters in the department's history, but questions linger about how effective the police can be in controlling steroid use in the department, considering how difficult it is to test for the drug. Unlike other narcotics, steroid testing is much more expensive and results from taking hair samples can be less accurate, resulting in false positives.The Boston Police Department says all the officers who were found to use steroids will have to undergo drug tests for the rest of their careers.Davis said that since the federal investigation has begun, the department has begun training supervisors to spot signs of substance abuse, especially steroids. Supervisors are also going through "integrity training," which reviews the department's ethics, like reporting wrongdoing by other officers.
Officers and recruits must take courses that teach the health risks of using anabolic steroids. New recruits will be tested for steroids.
