Pretty sure most of them take anabolic steroids, whose effects can lead to -guess what- delusion, aggressiveness and violence (not unlike cocaine). I wounldn't be surprised at all if random drug tests on cops confirmed this.
I speculate it has to do with police influence on the writing of laws.
Also this: https://www.sciencedirect.com/book/9780128028254/anabolic-st...
Chapter 3 has a lovely abstract: The anabolic steroid abuse problem within law enforcement is straightforward. Police culture embraces images of aggression and masculinity, serving up both institutional and social rewards for those that conform. Denying this reality is not reasonable. Anabolic steroids help provide an easy path to those short-term rewards. However, these rewards are temporary, high risk, and illegal. Additionally, as with any form of illegal drug use, it doesn’t occur in a vacuum. Anabolic steroid abuse requires committing any number of crimes and direct association with other criminals — including those who deal other illegal drugs.
Law enforcement has a professional obligation to public safety that includes employing and deploying only those officers that are fit for duty. It is not possible to use anabolic steroids and also maintain psychological or character-related fitness for duty. However, because of related performance- and image-enhancing benefits, in combination with ignorance of the law, anabolic steroid abuse is tolerated by some public safety agencies and many in the legal community. This short-sighted approach, which amounts to the burying of heads in the sand, ensures that harm will be caused and that legal liability will be incurred.
Is that actually true? I was under the impression that you could find a doctor that would prescribe them to you. Not the case with, say, cocaine.
Uveitis, Grave’s disease, gout, alopecia, systemic vasculitis & giant cell arteritis are some other viable reasons for being prescribed steroids.
Thr authors list the risk factors: employment as nightclub bouncer, professional male dancer, professional wrestler, or law enforcement officer. BMJ is highly reputable.
So the reason smalltown police act like BOPE in Rio is that they want to look buff like a male stripper! They don't want to be the arm of the law, such work is dirty, boring and tedious, their goal is to look sexy with their guns, their kink escaped from the bedroom into the streets!
No wonder that they have a recruitment problem, regular people won't join Anabolics Anonymous, only slightly troubled weirdos and high school bullies will come. It makes you very pessimistic about police violence and proper discipline in the force, they won't ever improve unless they solve their drug abuse problem first.
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/anabolic-steroid-misuse/
https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/ster...
I certainly doubted the 'most' part of that statement but after looking into it, it really does seem like there is a problem with steroids and the police. Potentially still not 'most' police but certainly enough that it's an issue.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/09/world/europe/ilaria-cucch...
http://www.ansa.it/english/news/2018/10/26/superior-sent-cha...
What made me even more angry then however was the fake camaraderie LEOs associations showed when protecting their colleagues; that's not camaraderie, that's collusion plain and simple, which is probably even worse than having the brain f'ed up by hormones.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/30/italian-police...
No need to invent anabolic steroids as a cause.It's not like these things didn't exist before steroids were available.
https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/derek-james-from/edmonton-poli...
https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=y&pr...
https://nypost.com/2018/02/22/nypd-cops-in-hot-water-for-var...
https://www.menshealth.com/health/a19520798/scandals-cops-an...
And at least one book has been written on the topic.
https://psmag.com/magazine/the-hidden-world-of-police-on-ste...