Carolyn Barek

Lieutenant Carolyn Barek is the commanding officer of the Bronx Special Victims Unit. She was formerly a detective and was partnered with Detective Mike Logan and assigned to the Major Case Squad of the New York City Police Department.

Biography

Barek's father was in a carpenter's union. (CI: "Unchained")

A former criminal profiler from Brooklyn's Cobble Hill, Barek spent two years post-9/11 with the FBI. Barek previously worked without a partner, which accounts for her habit of talking to herself while examining a crime scene. (CI: "Diamond Dogs")

In addition to English, she also speaks Polish, Spanish, Italian, Creole, Russian, Cantonese, and Yiddish. (CI: "Diamond Dogs")

At some point during her tenure with the Major Case Squad, she worked a case with then-Detective Olivia Benson; their paths didn't cross again until 2021. (SVU: "Hunt, Trap, Rape and Release")

In 2006, she was transferred to a different department for a reason not stated on the show. She was replaced by Megan Wheeler.

Barek, now a Lieutenant, was assigned to head up the Special Victims Unit's Bronx division, working out of the 55th Precinct, after the departure of Captain Kenyatta. However, after the revelation that her sergeant, Ari Moldovan whose actions she had defended during a rape investigation, was the rapist they were looking for, Barek was prepared to resign from the force. At that moment, Deputy Chief Christian Garland let her know that although her time as the commanding officer of Bronx's Special Victims Unit was over, he could get her back on the Homicide Squad. (SVU: "Hunt, Trap, Rape and Release")