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The Special Victims Unit (SVU) is a division within the New York City Police Department.

The Detectives in this division investigate crimes involving sexual assault, the very young, or the very elderly, as well as any crime loosely connected with any of the three. The unit also deals with murder, abduction, robbery, and child pornography cases. The unit is housed in several different boroughs.

Manhattan SVU[]

The unit has been located within the 16th Precinct in Manhattan, New York City from seasons 12-present. Manhattan SVU is the division that is featured in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

Commanding officers[]

Squad supervisors[]

Detectives[]

Support personnel[]

The detectives of the Manhattan Special Victims Unit are frequently assisted by personnel from other New York City Police Department (NYPD) units, the District Attorney (D.A.)'s office, the Medical Examiner's (M.E's) Office, and even the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

In early episodes the Special Victims Unit was often depicted as the "Sex Crimes division", or "Manhattan SVU".

ADAs[]

The Special Victims Unit works with a special division of the Manhattan District Attorney's Office called the Sex Crimes Bureau.

  • Assistant District Attorney Abbie Carmichael, NYCDA (1999–2000)
  • Assistant District Attorney Alexandra Cabot, NYCDA (2000–2003, 2009, 2009–2010, 2011–2012, retired)
  • Assistant District Attorney Casey Novak, NYCDA (2003–2008, 2011–2012)
  • Assistant District Attorney Kim Greylek, NYCDA (2008–2009, transferred)
  • Executive Assistant District Attorney Sonya Paxton, NYCDA (2009, 2010–2011, KIA)
  • Assistant District Attorney Jo Marlowe, NYCDA (2010)
  • Assistant District Attorney Mikka Von, NYCDA (2010, fired)
  • Assistant District Attorney Sherri West, NYCDA (2010–2011, became a defense attorney)
  • Assistant District Attorney Gillian Hardwicke, NYCDA (2010–2011)
  • Assistant District Attorney Rafael Barba, NYCDA (2012–2018, became a defense attorney)
  • Assistant District Attorney Peter Stone, NYCDA (2018–2019, resigned)
  • Assistant District Attorney Dominick Carisi, Jr., NYCDA (2019–present)

The Bureau was overseen by Bureau Chief Elizabeth Donnelly from 2002 until she was promoted to the Bench in 2005. In 2011, Michael Cutter was appointed Bureau Chief by the District Attorney. In 2019, Vanessa Hadid became Bureau Chief of the Special Victims Unit.

Other SVUs[]

There are SVU units located in other boroughs of New York City, including Queens, Brooklyn, and the Bronx. Detective Chester Lake was a transfer from the Brooklyn SVU unit. (SVU: "Screwed") Before joining the Manhattan SVU, Dominick Carisi, Jr. had worked in the Staten Island SVU for two months, Brooklyn SVU for almost a month, and Queens SVU for a week. Benson wanted to make sure Carisi did a good job or otherwise he would be sent to the Bronx. (SVU: "Girls Disappeared")

From 2014 to 2019, the Deputy Chief of all of the NYPD Special Victims Units was William Dodds (SVU: "Holden's Manifesto", "I'm Going To Make You a Star"); he was succeeded by Deputy Chief Christian Garland until his resignation in 2021. Chief Tommy McGrath has temporarily taken command of the units until a new Deputy Chief can be found. (SVU: "Never Turn Your Back On Them")

Bronx SVU[]

The Bronx SVU at one point consisted of Lieutenant Carolyn Barek, Sergeant Ari Moldovan, and Detective Mia Ruz. However, when Moldovan was revealed to be a rapist, Barek's command was taken away, Moldovan impressioned, and Ruz saying she would likely be on tunnel duty for a few years. (SVU: "Hunt, Trap, Rape, and Release")

A whistleblower detective, Terry Bruno, sues his superiors at Bronx SVU, leading to the US Department of Justice to investigate and take over SVU. McGarth then asked Benson to help clear their case backlog and Benson eventually agrees as a way for her to investigate the gang BX9. (SVU: "Jumped In") Bruno and his colleague, Officer Tonie Churlish, eventually transfer to Manhattan SVU.

The real Special Victims Squad[]

The NYPD does have a real unit that investigates sex crimes which, same as depicted in the show, is housed in separate Borough Patrols, (i.e. Manhattan, Brooklyn, The Bronx, and Queens). In addition to the different name, the real Special Victims Squad only investigates the following types of cases:

  • Any child under 13 years of age who is the victim of any sex crime or attempted sex crime.
  • Any child under 11 years of age who is the victim of abuse by a parent or person legally responsible for the care of the child.
  • Any victim of rape (all degrees) or attempted rape (all degrees).
  • Any victim of Criminal Sexual Act (all degrees) or Attempted Criminal Sexual Act (all degrees).
  • Victims of Aggravated Sexual Abuse (all degrees).
  • Victims of Sexual Abuse 1st Degree.

They also deal with children, handicapped, and elderly victims of non-sexual crimes who require specialist handling. The real Special Victims Unit does not investigate any murder, robbery, or child pornography cases. Murders and robberies are investigated by precinct detective squads. If a sex crime is involved, the Special Victims Squad may assist in the investigation. Child pornography is investigated by the NYPD Vice Enforcement Sexual Exploitation of Children Unit.

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