The environment inside the centres is such that clients shooting themselves up with steroids are generally left alone, and centres often choose to deny access to the watchdog group Anti Doping Denmark. Although the substances are illegal, police departments do not see them as a high priority.
"Doping is not an organised crime area that we are targeting," Steffen Steffensen, the commissioner of the Copenhagen Police, told Politiken.
[...]
"Strict rules are not a characteristic of 'iron caves' that allow steroid use and opt out of visits by the anti-doping organisation," said Kirkegaard. "It is obvious that the police need to target these places."
The culture minister, Marianne Jelved (Radikale), agreed that doping at fitness centres should be a police issue. The penalties for steroid use will increase in the autumn from two to six years, and Jelved said the higher penalties will inspire the police to take action
"The higher penalties give police better tools to address the problems of sales and purchases," she told Politiken.
The increased penalties bring Denmark in line with Norway and Sweden.
